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Anthracite  Coal 
Communities  - 


A  Study  of  the 

Dbmogbaphy,  the  Social,  Educational  and  Mobal  Life 

OF  the  Anthracite  Begions 


By 
peter   ROBERTS,   Ph.D. 

AX7TH0B  OF  "  ANTHBACITB  COAL  INDUSTRY 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANT 

LONDON:  MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Ltd. 

1904 


>\^ 


fFNERAL 


COPYBIQHT,    1904 

By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 


Set  up  and  published,  January,  1904 


Pbess  or 

Thi  New  Era  Printinc  Compmv, 
Lancaster,  Pa. 


PREFACE. 

When  the  strike  of  1900  was  settled,  all  who  knew  the  sit- 
uation at  first  hand  felt  that  the  settlement  was  only  an  armis- 
tice, that  the  real  conflict  between  capital  and  labor  in  the 
anthracite  regions  was  yet  to  come.  The  great  strike  of  1902 
came  and  with  it  a  harvest  of  misery,  privation  and  crime.  It 
cost  us  over  $100,000,000  and  wrought  moral  ruin  the  extent 
of  which  none  can  estimate.  The  outcome  of  the  conflict  — 
the  interference  of  the  President  and  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mission—  was  not  dreamt  of  by  the  most  sanguine  advo- 
cates of  the  rights  of  labor.  For  over  four  months,  the  Coal 
Strike  Commission  inquired  into  the  "economic,  domestic, 
scholastic  and  religious  phases"  of  the  mine  workers'  lives. 
It  examined  558  witnesses  and  most  of  the  testimony  was 
eagerly  read  by  an  interested  public.  During  the  conflict 
fundamental  questions  relative  to  industrial  and  social  relations 
were  raised.  Men  of  national  fame,  discussing  the  issues  in- 
volved, astonished  their  most  intimate  friends  by  proposing 
solutions  so  radical  as  to  be  little  short  of  a  complete  subver- 
sion of  our  industrial  system.  In  the  sessions  of  the  Commis- 
sion, all  attempts  to  limit  the  scope  of  the  inquiry  to  the  indus- 
trial questions  which  precipitated  the  conflict  were  vain.  To 
80  per  cent,  of  mine  workers  the  question  of  wages  meant  their 
whole  living  and  the  Commission  was  forced  to  listen  to  the 
story  of  these  people's  life  in  all  its  phases.  Never  before,  in 
any  industrial  dispute,  was  it  more  clearly  seen  that  the  stu- 
dents of  the  industrial  and  social  problems  are  laboring  for  iden- 
tical ends,  and  that  the  reformers  of  the  industrial  and  social 
world  are  fighting  under  the  same  banner. 

The  anthracite  employees,  since  the  close  of  the  great  strike, 
have  had  a  year  of  unparalleled  prosperity.  From  November 
1,  1902,  to  November  1,  1903,  over  62,000,000  tons  of  coal 
were  mined.     Both  employers  and  employees  have  prospered, 

V 


VI  PREFACE. 

but  industrial  prosperity  is  not  synonymous  with  social  prog- 
ress, and  our  greatest  danger  arises  to-day  from  the  tendency 
to  regard  "  the  Belly  and  its  adjuncts  as  the  great  Reality." 
Should  there  not  be  means  instituted  to  counteract  this  ten- 
dency? 

I  have  given  the  facts  relative  to  the  economic  life  of  our 
people  in  "  The  Anthracite  Coal  Industry/'  published  in  the 
fall  of  1901.  The  object  of  the  present  volume  is  to  give  the 
facts  relative  to  the  social  and  moral  life  of  the  anthracite  mine 
employees.  Let  the  reader  deeply  ponder  the  facts  given  in 
the  following  pages  and  ask  if  considerations  of  patriotism  de- 
mand not  the  cooperation  of  all  citizens  for  the  future  peace 
and  progress  of  anthracite  communities. 

I  desire  to  express  thanks  for  many  suggestions  and  correc- 
tions to  Professors  W.  G.  Sumner  and  Henry  W.  Farnam,  of 
Yale  University,  to  Professor  Katherine  Coman,  of  Wellesley 
College,  and  especially  to  Dr.  H.  T.  Newcomb,  of  Washington, 
D.  C,  who  carefully  read  the  manuscript  and  made  many  criti- 
cisms and  suggestions  which  assisted  me  in  making  improve- 
ments in  the  book. 

P.  R. 
Mahanoy  City,  Pa., 
January,  1904. 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  I.    Our  Mining  Population 3-27 

1 .  The  Territory  in  Which  Anthracite  Miners  Live 3 

2.  ^^Immigration  and  Social  Capillarity 11 

3.  The  Twenty-six  Peoples  now  residing  here 19 

CHAPTER  n.     The  Sclav  Employees 28-56 

1.  The  Jews  who  Accompany  the  Exodus 28 

2.  The  Sclav's  Home  in  Fatherland 31 

3.  Do  the  Sclavs  make  Grood  Miners  ? 35 

4.  Sclavs  Accumulating  Riches 41 

5.  Do  the  Sclavs  Become  Citizens? 44 

6.  Clinging  to  Old  Customs 48 

CHAPTER  HI.    The  Three  Crises 67-86 

1.  The  Marriages  of  Mine  Employees 57 

2.  The  Number  of  Children  Born  to  Them 68 

3.  The  Angel  of  Death  in  the  Homes 76 

CHAPTER  IV.     Different  Ways  of  Living 87-119 

1.  How  Much  Does  it  Cost  to  Furnish  a  House  ? 87 

2.  What  do  Mine  Workers  Spend  on  Clothes? 95 

3.  The  Money  Spent  on  the  Table  and  on  Amusements 103 

4.  The  Effects  of  a  Rising  Standard  of  Living Ill 

CHAPTER  V.    Mine  Employees  at  Home 120-150 

1.  Dwelling  Houses  in  Mining  Towns 120 

2.  The  Condition  of  Women  Therein 136 

3.  The  Rights  of  Children 141 

4.  The  Need  of  Better  Homes 145 

CHAPTER  VI.    Our  Educational  Apparatus 151-187 

1.  Schoolhouses  in  Mining  Towns 151 

2.  The  Men  and  Women  Who  Teach 158 

3.  The  Boys  and  Girls  in  School 164 

4.  The  Boys  in  the  Breakers 174 

5.  Can  Our  Educational  System  be  Improved? 182 

vii 


VIU  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII.    The  Intellectual  and  Religious  Life. 

188-221 

1.  What  Do  Our  People  Read? 188 

2.  Club  Life  in  Mining  Towns 194 

3.  The  Work  of  Temperance  Reform 202 

4.  Our  Churches  and  the  Clergy 207 

CHAPTER  VIII.     The  Men  at  the  Bar 222-243 

1.  The  Three  Thousand  Saloons 222 

2.  What  Does  it  Cost  to  Keep  Them  Going? 233 

3.  Are  the  Mine  Workers  to  be  Blamed? 237 

CHAPTER  IX.     Those  who  Save  Money 244-273 

1.  The  Banks  and  the  Cash  Deposits 244 

2.  The  ''Building  and  Loan".. 254 

3.  Organizations  for  Sick  Benefits 259 

4.  Insurance  Against  Mine  Accidents 264 

CHAPTER  X.     Our  Criminals 274-297 

1.  Crime  in  the  Anthracite  Counties 274 

2.  The  Dockets  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace 278 

3.  Crime  Among  Farmers  and  Miners  —  A  Comparison 284 

4.  The  Boys  and  Girls  Who  Go  Wrong 288 

CHAPTER  XI.     "  Charity  Never  Faileth  " 298-315 

1.  The  Liberality  of  Directors  of  Poor  Relief 298 

2.  How  Much  Do  the  Coal  Companies  Give? 303 

3.  Individual  Givers 311 

CHAPTER  XII.     Politics  in  Mining  Communities 316-342 

1.  The  Men  Who  Run  for  County  Offices 316 

2.  The  Men  Who  Sit  in ''Council  Chambers" 324 

3.  How  are  Our  Boroughs  Managed? 329 

4.  The  "Board  of  Health''  in  Mining  Towns 333 

5.  Mining  Municipalities  Owning  Public  Utilities 337 

CHAPTER  XIII.  The  '  'Conclusion  of  the  Whole  Matter.  ' ' 

343-378 

1.  The  Ills  we  Bear  : 

a.  In  the  Home  and  in  the  Schools 343 

b.  In  Society  and  in  the  Works 349 

c.  In  the  Boroughs  and  in  the  Counties 355 

2.  The  Way  to  Health  : 

a.  Through  Harrisburg 358 

b.  Through  Pergonal  Effort 365 

c.  Through  the  Church 372 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Facing  Paok. 

1.  Map  of  the  Coal  Fields  and  Elevation 2 

2.  A  Modern  Shaft 4 

3.  The  Environment  of  a  Colliery 9 

4.  Sclavs  under  Social  Ameliorism 24 

5.  A  Group  of  Sclav  Miners 37 

6.  A  Young  Apprentice  and  his  Papa 37 

7.  Three  Generations  of  Mine  Employees 63 

8.  Houses  built  by  Mine  Employees 87 

9.  Selling  Huckleberries  to  the  Shipper 106 

10.  The  Scene  of  an  Eviction 120 

11.  One  of  the  Worst  Company  Houses 123 

12.  One  of  the  Best  Company  Houses 128 

13.  Scene  of  a  Cave-in  at  Olyphaut,  Pa 153 

14.  The  Ravages  of  Mining  Operations 153 

15.  Some  School  Children  —  American  and  Sclav 163 

16.  A  School  where  some  Boys  Graduate 172 

17.  Breaker  Boys  at  Work 175 

18.  Map  Showing  Saloons,  etc.,  in  Mahanoy  City 227 

19.  Fit  Subjects  for  a  Kindergarten 228 

20.  A  Portable  Saloon  Visiting  a  Mining  Town 228 

21.  A  Map  of  Towns  and  Villages  without  Savings  Institutions.  249 

22.  A  Victim  of  a  Non-fatal  Accident 259 

23.  Miners  Going  to  Work 282 

24.  The  Winning  Boys 289 

25.  Some  of  Our  Future  Citizens 316 

26.  A  Mining  Town 33^ 

27.  Economy  —  A  Hydrant  for  Twenty-five  Families 346 

28.  Types  in  a  Mining  Village 356 


IX 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

The  statistics  were  gleaned  from  the  following  works  : 

State  reports  : 

Bureau  of  Mines  of  Pennsylvania  :  Reports  of,  1870-1902.     32  vols. 

Board  of  Health  of  Pennsylvania  :  Reports  of,  1900-1902.     4  vols. 

Circulars  and  Laws  of. 
Commissioner  of  Banking  :  Reports  of. 

Banks  and  Trust  Companies  :  1900-1901.     2  vols. 

Building  and  Loan  Associations  :  1900-1901.     2  vols. 
Commission  of  Inquiry  into  the  Condition  of  the  Insane  in  Hospitals : 

Report  of  (1902). 
Factory  Inspectors  :  Reports  of,  1897,  1899,  1900  and  1901.     4  vols. 
Industrial  Statistics,  1890,  1900  and  1902.     3  vols. 
Legislative  Handbook :  SmuU's. 

Public  Charities  of  Pennsylvania,  Reports  of,  1891,  1900  and  1901.     3  vols. 
School  Laws  of  Pennsylvania  (1902). 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  :  Reports  of,  1899, 1900, 1901  and  1902. 

4  vols. 

Other  sources  :  / 

Anthracite  Coal  Strike  Commission,  Report  of  (1903).    -^ 

Ayers,  N.  W.     Newspaper  Annual. 

Building  and  Loan  Associations.   Commissioner  of  Labor's  Report  of  (1893). 

Catholic  Directory  (1902). 

Census  returns  for  1860,  1870,  1880,  1890  and  1900. 

Controller  of  the  Currency.     Report  of  (1901). 

Court  Houses  of  Anthracite  Counties. 

Dockets  of  Births  and  Marriages. 

Assessors'  Returns. 

Criminal  Dockets. 

License  Dockets. 

Naturalization  Dockets,  etc. 
Delaware  and  Hudson  Coal  Company.     Reports  of  Accidental  Fund  from 

1887-1901. 
Hospitals  (ten)  in  Anthracite  Regions,  Annual  Reports  of. 
Justices  of  the  Peace  in  Mining  Towns,  Dockets  of. 
Labor  Statistics,  New  York,  1899. 

Leading  Denominations  in  the  Coal  Fields,  Annual  Reports  of. 
Local  Boards  of  Health,  Dockets  of. 
Mining  Municipalities,  Reports  of. 
Philadelphia  and  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company.     Reports  of  Accidental 

Fund,  1888-1902. 
RowELL,  Geo.  P.     American  Newspaper  Directory. 

xi 


XU  BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

We  derived  help  from  the  following  books : 
Ashley,  W.  J.     "  English  Economic  History." 
Bagehot,  WAiiTER.      "  Physics  and  Politics. " 
Blatchfobd,  Egbert.     "Merrie  England." 

"Prisoners  and  Paupers"  and  "Science  of  Penology." 
"Social  Unrest." 
Carlyle,  Thgmas.    Works,  12  vols. 
Clark,  J.  B.     "Distribution  of  Wealth." 

Committee  gp  Fifty.     "  Economic  Aspects  of  the  Liquor  Problem." 
Cone,  Orellg.     "  Rich  and  Poor." 
DoNiSTHROPE,  Wm.      "Individualism." 

Ellis,  Havelock.     "  The  Criminal,"  and  "  Man  and  Woman." 
Encyclopedia  Brittanica.  ' '    ( Ninth  edition )  Articles  '  *  Sclav, "  "  Russia, ' ' 

"Poland,"  "Letts,"  etc. 
FORBUSH,  W.  B.     "The  Boy  Problem." 
Geddes  and  Thompson.     "  The  Evolution  of  Sex  "  (1902). 
GiDDiNGS,  T.  H.     "Principles  of  Sociology." 
GiDE,  Charles.     "Political  Economy." 
GiLMAN,  N.  P.     "  Socialism  and  the  American  Spirit." 
Graham,  Wm.     "  Socialism  New  and  Old." 
Grasserie,  Raoul  DE  LA.     "  Des  Religions  Comparees." 
GuYAU,  M.     "  L'Irreligion  De  L'Avenir." 
Hadley,  A.  T.     "Economics." 
Harnack,  Adolf.     "  What  is  Christianity  ? ' 

Harris,  George.     "  Moral  Evolution"  and  "  Inequality  and  Progress." 
Henderson,  C.  R.     "  The  Social  Spirit  in  America," 
Huxley,  T.  H.     "Elements  of  Physiology." 
HOPPE,  Dr.  Hugo.     "  Die  Thatsachen  iiber  den  Alkohol "  (1901). 
Letourneau.     "LeMariage." 

LiLiENFELD,  P.  DE.     "La  Pathologie  Sociale"  (1896). 
LoRiA,   A.     "Les  Bases  Economiques  de  la  Constitution  Sociale,"   and 

"Principes  Sociaux  Contemporains." 
Lippert,  Julius.     "  Kulturgeschichte."     2  vols.  (1886). 
Marx,  Carl.     "Capital." 

Marshall,  Alfred.     "Principles  of  Economics"  (1898). 
Matthews,  Shaler.     "The  Social  Teaching  of  Jesus." 
Mayo-  Smith.     ' '  Statistics  of  Sociology. ' ' 
NiTTi,  F.  S.     " La  Population  et  le  Systeme  Social"  (1897). 
Oliver,  Thomas,  M.D.     "  Dangerous  Trades." 
Paulsen,  Friedrich.     "  A  System  of  Ethics. " 
Peabody,  F.  G.     "  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question." 
Ploss-Bartels.     "DasWeib."     2  vols.  (1902). 
Purdon's  "Digest  of  the  Laws  of  Pennsylvania." 
Rae,  John.     "  Contemporary  Socialism." 
Ranke,  Dr.  Johannes.     "  Der  Mensche."     2  vols.  (1894). 
Roberts,  Peter.     "Anthracite  Coal  Industry." 
RusKiN,  John.     Works.     14  vols. 
Small  and  Vincent.     "  An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Society." 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  XUl 

Smith,  A  dam.     *  *  Wealth  of  Nationi. ' ' 
Smythe,  Newman.     "  Christian  Ethics." 
Spencer,  Hekbert.     ' '  Education. ' ' 

' '  A  Study  of  Sociology. '  * 

"  First  Principles." 

"Principles  of  Sociology."     3  vols. 

* '  Principles  of  Biology. ' '     2  vols. 

"  Principles  of  Psychology."     2  vols. 

"Data  of  Ethics." 
Sumner,  W.  G.     *♦  What  Social  Classes  Owe  to  Each  Other." 

"Problems  in  Political  Economy." 
TuRQOT.     "  The  Formation  and  the  Distribution  of  Kiches." 
Ward,  L.  F.     "  Dynamic  Sociology."     2  vols. 

"  Psychical  Factors  of  Civilization." 

* '  Pure  Sociology. ' ' 
Weimer,  a.  B.     "  Laws  Relating  to  the  Mining  of  Coal  in  Pennsylvania." 
Wright,  Carroll  D.     *  *  Ethical  Considerations  in  Distribution  of  Wealth." 
ViGNES,  J.  B.  M.     "La  Science  Social."    2  vols. 
Virtue,  Dr.     "Anthracite  Mine  Laborers."     Bulletin  of  Department  of 

Labor  (1897). 
Zanten,  J.  H.  VAN.     "  Die  Arbeiterschutzgesetzgebung  in  den  Europaischen 

Landem"  (1902). 


Map  op  Coal  Fields  Giving  Cities  and  Principal  Towns  with 
Elevation  above  Sea-level. 


OP  THF 

'  UNIVERSITY 

OF 


ANTHRACITE  COAL  COMMUNITIES. 


CHAPTER   I. 

OUR  MINING  POPULATION. 

The  Territory  in  which  Anthracite  Miners  Live.  2.  Immigra- 
tion AND  Social  Capitj.arity.  3.  The  Twenty-six  Peoples  now 
Residing  Here. 


The  Territory. 

The  anthracite  coal  fields  are  located  in  the  northeastern 
portion  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  The  various  coal  basins, 
outlined  on  the  accompanying  map,  appear  as  so  many  islands 
upon  which  representatives  of  twenty-six  dififerent  nationalities 
have  settled  who  gain  their  means  of  subsistence  by  exploit- 
ing these  rich  coal  fields.  The  density  of  population  of  the 
counties  of  Lackawanna,  Luzerne  and  Schuylkill  as  compared 
with  adjoining  counties  is  due  to  the  mining  industry,  and 
when  their  supply  of  coal  shall  have  been  exhausted,  these 
will  be  chiefly  populated  by  agriculturalists  as  was  the  case 
before  their  coal  deposits  were  discovered. 

The  Appalachian  valley,  of  which  these  coal  fields  form  a 
part,  consists  of  alternate  and  parallel,  narrow  sinuous  ridges 
and  valleys  which  have  been  greatly  folded,  faulted  and  eroded. 
The  ridges  consist  of  sandstone  and  quartzite.  At  the  out« 
crops  of  the  coal  basins  the  soil  is  red,  because  of  the  red  shale 
which  forms  the  bed  of  the  anthracite  coal  fields.  The  valleys 
lying  between  these  ridges  consist  of  soft  and  soluble  limestone 
and  the  diluvial  deposits  of  rivers  and  creeks,  which  now  are 
narrowed  down  to  small  beds  as  compared  with  the  expanse 
they  once  occupied. 

3 


4  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

A  line  drawn  from  the  southeastern  point  of  Susquehanna 
county  passing  through  Lackawanna  and  Luzerne  counties  to 
the  extreme  limit  of  the  Wyoming  basin  at  Shickshinny,  then 
down  south  through  Columbia  county  to  Centralia,  and  again 
west  and  south  around  the  off-shoots  of  the  Schuylkill  and 
Pottsville  basins  passing  through  the  counties  of  Northumber- 
land, Dauphin  and  Lebanon ;  then  northeast  through  Schuyl- 
kill and  Carbon  counties  to  Mauch  Chunk,  and  north  again  to 
the  point  of  departure,  will  enclose  the  total  area  of  the 
anthracite  coal  fields,  which  is  1,700  square  miles.  The  coal 
deposits,  however,  occupy  only  480  square  miles. 

The  section  lies  between  75  and  77  degrees  longitude  and  40 
and  42  degrees  latitude.  Thus  the  coal  fields  lie  5  degrees 
nearer  the  equator  than  does  the  territory  occupied  by  the 
Sclav  races  of  Europe  which  now  form  an  essential  part  of 
this  population,  while  it  is  10  degrees  nearer  than  the  British 
Isles.  The  meteorological  observations  of  the  weather  bureau 
as  observed  at  Wilkesbarre  give  an  average  mean  temperature 
during  the  last  fifteen  years  of  50.7  degrees  Fahrenheit :  the 
highest  being  101  degrees  and  the  lowest  —9  degrees.  The 
average  annual  precipitation  covering  the  same  number  of 
years  was  35.02  inches  ;  the  maximum  in  any  one  month  being 
4.49  inches  and  the  minimum  1.29.  An  annual  average  of 
138  days  of  sunshine  was  enjoyed  during  the  fifteen  years, 
while  165  days  were  cloudy  and  62  partly  cloudy.  Thus  from 
the  standpoint  of  physical  environment,  the  temperature,  pre- 
cipitation and  atmospheric  conditions  are  most  favorable  to 
health. 

The  anthracite  basins  are  embedded  in  the  bosom  of  the 
hills,  though  the  towns  and  villages  vary  considerably  in  their 
elevation  above  sea-level.  In  the  Wyoming  valley  at  Wilkes- 
barre, where  we  have  the  lowest  elevation  in  the  coal  fields,  the 
city  is  575  feet  above  sea-level.  As  we  ascend  the  bed  of  the 
Susquehanna  to  Pittston,  we  find  there  an  elevation  of  about 
590  feet.  Scran  ton  is  746  feet,  and  Carbondale  stands  965 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  highest  elevation  is  near 
Hazleton,  which  is  1,750  feet  above  sea-level ;  from  the  Hazle- 


OUR   MINING    POPULATION.  5 

ton  mountains  we  descend  to  Mahanoy  City  and  Shenandoah 
where  we  have  1,343  and  1,312  feet  respectively;  following 
the  Lykens  Valley  basin  as  far  as  Shamokin  we  find  there  an 
elevation  of  750  feet.  Passing  into  the  Pottsville  basin  we 
find  at  Lansford  an  elevation  of  1,340  feet  and  at  Tamaqua 
803  feet.  Ashland  is  859  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and 
Pottsville  614  feet.  Following  the  outcrops  from  here  into 
Dauphin  and  Lebanon  counties  we  have  an  elevation  of  1,127 
and  909  feet  at  Williamstown  and  Cold  Spring  respectively. 

The  territory  is  drained  by  two  majestic  rivers,  the  Delaware 
on  the  east  and  the  Susquehanna  on  the  west.  The  Lacka- 
wanna river  flows  over  the  northern  section  of  the  Wyoming 
basin  and  joins  the  Susquehanna  at  Pittston.  Entering  the 
coal  fields  at  this  point  the  Susquehanna  river  flows  over  the 
remaining  section  of  the  northern  basin  as  far  as  Shickshinny. 
Here  it  bends  south  and  sweeps  around  the  southern  coal  fields, 
draining  the  northern  part  of  both  Luzerne  and  Schuylkill 
counties.  The  southern  portion  of  these  two  counties,  in  which 
lie  the  Middle  and  Southern  coal  fields,  is  drained  by  the  Lehigh 
and  Schuylkill  rivers,  both  of  which  flow  into  the  Delaware. 

The  mining  industry  has  effected  a  great  change  in  the 
physical  features  of  this  section  of  the  state  of  Pennsylvania. 
Many  immigrants,  still  residing  in  the  coal  fields,  well  remem- 
ber these  mountain  streams  filled  with  fishes,  which  afforded 
ample  sport  to  the  pioneer  settler.  The  hills  were  covered  with 
virgin  forests.  The  first  industry  which  thrived  in  the  region 
was  that  of  lumbering,  and  many  localities  still  preserve  the 
memories  of  lumber-camps  and  saw-mills  which  flourished  in 
the  last  century.  The  product  of  these  saw-mills  was  generally 
hauled  to  the  banks  of  creeks  and  rivers  and,  being  firmly 
bound  into  rafts,  was  floated  down  the  streams  and  brought  to 
market.  The  creeks  and  rivers  were  then  a  source  of  joy  and 
blessing  to  men.  Pebbles  of  sandstone  and  quartzite  glistened 
on  the  river  banks,  and  gravel  beds  of  pristine  brightness  were 
seen  through  the  transparent  streams.  Fish  played  in  these 
crystal  waters  which  murmured  a  sweet  lullaby  to  the  Indian, 
the  pioneer  agriculturalists  and  lumbermen,  weary  with  the 


6  ANTHRACITE   COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

day's  toil.  A  great  change  has  come  over  this  charming  land- 
scape. The  hills  have  been  stripped  of  their  forests  and  the 
major  part  of  the  graceful  trees  which  once  bent  to  the  storm 
now  rot  in  the  caves  of  the  earth,  where,  for  a  time,  they 
afforded  protection  to  mine  employees  engaged  in  digging  coal. 
The  climate  of  these  regions  has  been  considerably  modified. 
The  long  winters  and  heavy  snow  falls,  which  the  pioneer  set- 
tlers regularly  expected,  no  longer  prevail.  The  territory 
which  then  was  sparsely  settled  is  now  studded  with  villages, 
towns  or  cities.  But  in  nothing  is  the  change  so  marked  as  in 
the  character  of  these  mountain  streams.  When  the  woodland 
heights  formed  reservoirs  for  the  melting  snows,  the  creeks  and 
rivers  were  seldom  flooded,  and  rarely  were  they  known  to  dry 
up  in  summer.  Now  the  rain  and  snow  have  no  natural  reser- 
voirs. A  heavy  storm  immediately  swells  the  streams.  Every 
storm  means  a  flood.  The  waters  soon  pass  to  the  mighty  deep 
and  the  land  is  again  thirsty.  When  the  winter  snows  melt, 
the  creeks  and  rivers  overflow  their  banks,  and  the  rapid  rush 
of  many  waters  into  the  Susquehanna  and  Delaware  results  in 
inundations  which  cause  an  incomputable  annual  loss  to  farms 
and  towns  along  the  banks  of  these  streams. 

This,  however,  is  not  all  the  change  effected  in  the  character 
of  these  waterways.  The  mining  industry  perfects  the  work  of 
destruction.  A  casual  trip  in  railroad  cars  over  the  Hazleton 
mountains  and  down  through  Schuylkill  county  will  show  the 
extent  of  the  damage  done  to  the  surface  by  mining  operations. 
The  Mammoth  vein  has  been  largely  worked  and  abandoned 
and  the  surface  has  caved  in,  so  that  everywhere  the  ragged 
sides  of  these  huge  depressions  appear.  This  disfigurement  is 
common  throughout  the  coal  fields  though  not  to  the  same 
extent  in  the  Northern  as  in  the  Middle  and  Southern.  The 
result  is  that  creeks,  which  once  carried  away  the  surface  water 
from  these  hills,  are  now  dry.  The  water  is  drained  by  these 
surface  depressions.  It  enters  the  mines  and  must  again  be 
pumped  to  the  surface.  During  the  floods  in  December,  1901, 
a  foreman  in  one  of  the  Reading  shafts  in  Schuylkill  county, 
on  a  tour  of  inspection  through  the  mines,  was  met  by  a  flood 


OUK  MINING   POPULATION.  7 

two  feet  deep  rushing  along  the  gangway.  The  water-ways 
which  once  were  on  the  surface  are  there  no  more  —  streams 
in  the  depths  of  collieries  have  taken  their  place. 

The  quality  of  the  creeks  and  rivers  is  also  very  different. 
The  waters  of  nearly  400  collieries  impregnated  with  sulphur, 
flowing  into  the  creeks  and  rivers  have  killed  the  fish.  In 
addition  to  this,  the  necessity  in  recent  years  of  washing  the 
coal  before  sending  it  to  market  as  well  as  the  erection  of 
washeries  for  the  overhauling  of  the  culm  heaps,  adds  to  every 
available  stream  a  quantity  of  foul  water  laden  with  coal  dust 
which  turns  the  creeks  and  rivers  into  a  mass  of  black  flowing 
stuff  that  is  a  curse  to  all  forms  of  organic  life.  Then  in 
these  valleys  the  culm  heaps  —  the  accumulated  refuse  of 
nearly  eighty  years  of  mining  —  are  located.  When  heavy 
rains  fall,  the  waters  carry  a  certain  quantity  of  this  culm  into 
the  creeks  and  rivers,  so  that  both  bank  and  bed  are  to-day 
covered  with  coal  dust,  and  the  waters  of  the  Susquehanna 
and  the  Delaware,  which  once  were  a  joy  to  men,  have  be- 
come a  curse.  To  this  defilement  of  the  streams  another  still 
more  poisonous  defilement  is  added.  The  towns  and  cities 
located  on  the  banks  of  these  creeks  and  rivers  turn  the  con- 
tents of  their  sewers  into  them.  This  pollution  imperils  the 
health  of  mining  communities  themselves.  In  some  regions 
the  streams  are  little  better  than  open  sewers  contaminating  the 
air  with  poisonous  gases.  The  occasional  flooding  of  these 
water-ways  above  referred  to  is  a  blessing,  for  then  the 
accumulated  filth  that  poisons  the  atmosphere  is  swept  away. 
In  summer  time,  when  the  refuse  of  towns,  the  garbage  of 
cities,  the  foul  contents  of  sewers,  and  the  black  sulphurous 
water  of  mines  and  washeries,  defile  the  streams,  the  dismal 
sight  and  the  foul  stench  oppress  the  hearts  and  defile  the  souls 
of  men.  We  pay  the  price  of  our  carelessness,  for  annually 
scores  of  innocents  perish  in  the  homes  of  the  people.  Judge 
Thayer,  of  Philadelphia,  said  "  to  pollute  a  stream  is  to  main- 
tain a  common  nuisance.  It  is  not  only  a  public  injury,  but 
it  is  a  crime,  a  crime  for  which  those  who  perpetrate  it  are 
answerable  in  a  tribunal  of  criminal  jurisdiction."     The  law  of 


8  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

the  State,  however,  has  favored  the  coal  operators  and  decided 
that  the  pollution  of  the  streams  by  the  waters  pumped  out  of 
the  mines  is  an  evil  for  which  there  is  no  remedy  for  those 
residing  in  the  coal  area. 

These  communities  are  by  nature  admirably  suited  for  the 
maintenance  and  propagation  of  a  physically  and  intellectually 
strong  people.  Elevation,  favorable  atmospheric  conditions,  a 
moderate  temperature  and  a  plentiful  supply  of  good  water, 
offer  a  physical  environment  rarely  found  in  any  industry  fur- 
nishing employment  to  an  army  of  140,000  employees.  Rea- 
son would  dictate  that  these  favorable  natural  conditions  should 
at  least  be  preserved  if  not  improved  by  man.  Unfortunately, 
they  have  not  been  preserved,  to  say  nothing  of  being  im- 
proved. The  foulness  which  surrounded  the  village  among 
the  kitchen  middens  could  not  have  been  greater  than  that 
which  infests  some  sections  of  mining  towns,  where  the  streets 
are  unclean  and  the  rancid  stench  from  decayed  vegetation  and 
stagnant  pools  poisons  the  air.  Nothing  proves  the  favorable 
natural  conditions  of  these  regions  more  than  the  fact  that 
families  flourish  when  surrounded  by  an  atmosphere  that  is 
contaminated  by  their  own  indifference  or  ignorance.  A 
primary  law  of  hygiene  teaches  that  an  aggregation  of  men  is 
liable  to  the  action  of  no  poison  as  virulent  as  that  arising 
from  its  own  neglect  or  ignorance.  This  law,  so  well  estab- 
lished at  great  cost,  is  largely  ignored  by  the  average  mining 
community.  All  classes  of  men  are  guilty,  and  a  tribute  of 
suffering  and  death  is  annually  paid  because  of  this  disregard 
of  the  first  law  of  well  being. 

These  changes  in  the  physical  features  of  the  coal  fields  illu- 
strate how  man  can  affect  his  environment,  which,  in  turn,  re- 
acts upon  him.  Mining,  carried  on  under  the  most  favorable 
circumstances,  is  not  advantageous  to  social  progress,  but  if  in 
addition  to  disagreeable  work  the  face  of  nature  is  despoiled 
and  the  physical  surroundings  of  homes  are  poisoned  by  care- 
lessness, man  must  suffer  both  in  mind  and  body.  When 
men  settled  here  a  century  ago,  the  life  of  nature  was  far  more 
varied  and  wholesome  than  it  is  this  day.     Forest  and  stream 


OUR   MINING   POPULATION.  9 

offered  the  huntsman  and  fisherman  sport  which  strengthened 
his  limbs  and  sharpened  his  wit.  Many  bright  winged  birds 
which  are  now  rarely  seen  added  to  the  charm  of  the  land- 
scape. The  fish  are  exterminated,  and  the  fi)rests  where  solemn 
grandeur  and  majesty  impressed  the  souls  of  men  are  no  more. 
The  children  of  mine  employees  are  to-day  raised  among  sur- 
roundings that  are  dismal  and  dreary.  The  hugh  culm  and 
rock  heaps,  polluted  streams,  bare  and  barren  hills,  cave-ins 
and  strippings,  make  up  the  landscape  which  greets  the  eyes  of 
these  thousands,  and  if  they  are  polluted  in  mind  and  body  we 
need  not  be  surprised.  Man  can  turn  a  wilderness  into  a  gar- 
den, but  it  needs  intelligence  and  forethought.  In  these  re- 
gions hardly  a  spot  can  be  found  in  the  villages  and  towns  that 
is  not  cursed. 

The  blight  is  not  equally  cast  upon  every  section  of  these 
coal  fields.  The  Wyoming  Valley,  once  called  the  garden  of 
the  State,  still  preserves  some  of  its  former  beauty.  Here 
many  truck  farms  are  found  while  many  acres  held  by  the  coal 
operators  are  well  cultivated  fields.  In  the  Middle  coal  fields, 
on  the  plateau  on  which  Hazleton  stands,  there  were  once  green 
fields  which  afforded  ample  pasture  to  cattle.  Most  of  this  is 
now  torn  by  strippings,  and  the  surface  of  this  region  to-day 
presents  an  amorphous  appearance  which  baffles  description.  In 
the  Southern  coal  fields,  the  surface  is  chiefly  composed  of 
sandstone  rocks,  where  brush  and  stunted  trees  struggle  to  live. 
A  portion  of  Schuylkill  county  is  the  most  barren  of  all  the 
anthracite  coal  area,  and  a  few  valleys,  which  formerly  relieved 
the  dreariness  of  the  landscape,  are  now  covered  with  coal  dust. 

Mining  operations  have  depreciated  the  few  farms  which  are 
still  found  in  the  Wyoming  Valley.  The  rains,  as  above  stated, 
pass  through  the  soil  to  the  cavities  beneath.  The  vital  forces 
of  the  soil  are  thus  weakened  and  the  agriculturalists  find  it 
necessary  each  year  to  spend  a  considerable  sum  in  manure,  in 
order  to  maintain  the  productivity  of  their  farms.  The  soil  of 
the  Wyoming  Valley  is  naturally  fertile  and,  under  ordinary 
conditions,  yields  a  plentiful  crop  ;  but  the  money  necessarily 
spent  by  the  farmers  in  recent  years  for  purposes  of  fertiliza- 


10  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

tion  places  them  at  a  considerable  disadvantage  in  competing 
with  their  brethren  outside  the  coal  area. 

The  psychical  and  moral  effects  on  society,  arising  from  the 
mining  industry  together  with  the  incidental  defacement  of  the 
natural  features  of  the  environment  as  above  described,  cannot 
be  statistically  computed.  We  will  in  the  course  of  our  study 
find  anomalies  in  the  economic,  social  and  political  life  of  these 
communities,  which  will  partly  show  the  effect.  Man,  the 
center  of  all  our  civilization,  is  the  chief  concern  of  life.  It  is 
so  in  these  coal  fields.  Adam  Smith  said  :  "  Wherein  consisted 
the  happiness  and  perfection  of  man,  considered  not  only  as  an 
individual,  but  as  the  member  of  a  family,  of  a  state,  and  of 
the  great  society  of  mankind,  was  the  object  which  the  ancient 
moral  philosophy  purposed  to  investigate."  That  same  problem 
is  to-day  moving  society  as  never  before.  Here,  on  these  islands 
of  anthracite,  dwell  630,000  persons,  forming  a  heterogeneous 
group  which  represents  some  twenty-six  different  races  of  men, 
and  in  each  one  of  these  the  "  divine  shekinah  "  shines.  To 
awake  the  man  or  woman  in  each  of  these  units,  is  a  task  worthy 
of  the  best  efforts  of  men.  Natural  scenery  has  been  inevitably 
marred  by  the  hands  of  men  in  the  development  of  the  anthra- 
cite coal  industry,  but  to-day  over  100,000  families  find  sub- 
sistence in  a  territory  which  formerly  scantily  provided  the 
necessaries  of  life  to  a  thousand,  and  where  a  hundred  families 
of  Indians  could  not  live.  It  is  the  study  of  these  aggregates 
that  gives  interest  to  these  regions. 

On  this  area,  where  representatives  of  twenty-six  different 
races  meet  —  all  directly  or  indirectly  depending  upon  mining, 
all  subject  to  the  influences  of  a  society  where  customs  and 
usages  clash,  all  acted  upon  by  a  physical  environment  far  from 
ideal  —  the  question  is  what  kind  of  an  individual  is  produced  ? 
What  is  the  type  that  is  brought  forth  ?  After  all  is  said,  the 
individual  must  ever  be  the  concern  of  society.  Are  the  influ- 
ences moulding  the  life  of  the  descendants  of  immigrants  tc 
these  coal  fields  in  harmony  with  the  great  law  of  progressive 
social  evolution  ?  "  In  becoming  more  distinct  from  one  another 
and  from  their  environment,  organisms  acquire  more  marked 


OUR   MINING   POPULATION.  11 

individualities."  This  unquestionally  is  true  of  the  descendants 
of  European  nations  in  the  coal  fields,  but  the  point  of  vital 
importance  is,  are  the  "  more  marked  individualities  "  resulting 
in  an  improved  type  ?  Notwithstanding  many  signs  of  retro- 
gression, the  law  of  social  capillarity  is  pulling  up  the  ignorant 
and  impoverished  immigrants  of  these  coal  fields,  and  it  is  safe 
to  say  that  materially  and  intellectually  their  descendants  occupy 
a  higher  plane  in  society  than  their  ancestors  did.  Environ- 
ment is  an  efficient  factor  in  civilization,  but  ethnic  qualities  is 
a  more  potent  one  in  the  alembic  of  humanity.  In  these  various 
nations  there  are  latent  energies  which  promise  much  as  they 
blossom  on  soil  w^here  personal  freedom,  individual  liberty  and 
free  education  are  the  privileges  of  all.  And  we  feel  confident 
that  these  physical  and  psychical  energies,  which  are  called 
forth  to  action  as  never  before,  will  enhance  the  economic  worth 
of  these  men  and  enrich  the  country  of  their  adoption. 

Immigration  and  Social  Capillarity. 

In  the  last  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  territory  occu- 
pied by  the  anthracite  coal  fields  had  less  than  8,000  population ; 
to-day  about  630,000  persons  find  subsistence  here.  Nitti  says 
that  on  the  barbaric  stage  one  person  needs  20  square  miles  of 
territory  to  furnish  him  subsistence,  on  the  pastoral  stage  one 
square  mile  will  support  2.5  persons,  on  the  agricultural  stage 
100  persons  can  live  on  a  square  mile,  on  the  industrial  stage 
400  persons  can  live  on  that  extent  of  territory,  and  on  the 
commercial  stage  a  whole  nation  may  thrive  in  a  small  country. 
The  mining  industry  forms  the  economic  basis  of  the  population 
Qow  inhabiting  these  coal  fields.  There  are  370  persons  to  the 
square  mile  of  the  total  area  of  the  anthracite  coal  deposits, 
md  1,321  to  the  square  mile  of  the  coal  basins.  The  supply 
)f  anthracite  is  limited,  and  the  industry  will  pass  through  the 
:hree  stages,  growth,  equilibrium  and  decline.  During  these 
several  stages  the  number  of  persons  capable  of  being  sustained 
s  limited,  and  as  population  passes  or  falls  short  of  that  limit, 
o  will  the  economic  life  of  this  group  be  moderate  or  intense. 
Che  development  of  the  coal  fields,  improvement  in  the  art  of 


D 


12' 


ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 


mining,  the  introduction  of  ancillary  industries,  the  increased 
wants  of  the  people,  have  cooperated  to  augment  the  popu- 
lation up  to  its  present  number.  There  is  a  limit,  however, 
beyond  which  the  increase  cannot  pass.  The  Inspector  in 
Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines  said,  in  his  last  report,  that  the 
anthracite  collieries  have  reached  their  maximum  production. 
For  some  years  to  come  the  tonnage  of  these  collieries  will, 
under  normal  conditions,  be  60,000,000  +  tons  annually,  and 
about  150,000  mine  employees  will  find  subsistence  therein. 
When  the  business  declines,  the  surplus  population  will  be 
forced  out  to  other  industries,  but  the  process  of  expulsion  will 
intensify  the  conflict  within  the  mining  industry,  for  the  reason 
that  the  major  part  of  the  surplus  labor  seeking  employment 
will  not  readily  migrate.  The  ancillary  industries  depend  upon 
the  mines.  Some  factories  locate  in  these  coal  fields  because  oi 
cheap  fuel.  But  these  are  of  minor  importance.  They  will 
not  suffice  to  absorb  the  surplus  labor  population  and  relieve 
the  tension  that  must  inevitably  come  with  the  decline  of  th€ 
anthracite  coal  industry. 

Anthracite  mining  is  about  80  years  old.  This  period  hae 
been  one  of  growth.  The  population  of  the  coal  fields  has  alsc 
steadily  increased  during  these  years,  though  at  a  diminishing 
rate.  The  accompanying  table  shows  the  percentage  rate  of  in 
crease  of  population  and  of  production  at  the  mines,  in  th( 
counties  of  Lackawanna,  Luzerne  and  Schuylkill,  in  the  decade; 
from  1820  to  1900. 


Year. 

Population. 

Percentage  of 
Increase. 

Production. 

Percentage  c 
Increase. 

1830 

48,123 

53.6 

500,000 

400{?) 

1840 

73,059 

51.8 

1,000,000 

100.0 

1850 

116,785 

59.8 

3,500,000 

250.0 

1860 

179,754 

53.9 

8,500,000 

143.0 

1870 

277,343 

54.3 

12,500,000 

47.0 

1880 

352,308 

27.0 

24,800,000 

98.4 

1890 

497,454 

41.2 

40,000,000 

61.3 

1900 

623,879 

25.4 

54,000,000 

35.0 

The  perc 

entages  of  bot 

h  populatio 

n  and  producti 

on  show 

decline.     1 

'he  decade,  18 

70-1880,  \v 

■at- 

as  one  of  great 

industrii 

OUR   MINING   POPULATION.  13 

friction,  caused  chiefly  by  the  readjustment  of  wages  after  the 
inflation  of  the  currency  during  the  sixties.  In  the  last  decade, 
the  percentage  of  increase  in  population  and  production  is  lower 
than  in  any  previous  one.  And  without  presumption,  we  may 
safely  predict  that  the  percentage  increase  will  be  still  smaller 
in  both  columns  in  1910. 

In  the  last  decade  the  rate  of  increase  of  population  was  not 
uniform  in  the  three  counties  chiefly  dependent  on  mining. 
While  Lackawanna  increased  36.4  per  cent.  Schuylkill  only 
increased  12.2  per  cent.  In  the  latter  county,  mining  is  prac- 
tically the  only  industry  which  furnishes  employment  to  the 
people,  while  in  the  former  the  city  of  Scranton  enjoys  a  variety 
of  industries,  which  favors  an  increase  of  population  not  found 
elsewhere  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields.  Of  the  32,813  mine 
employees  in  Lackawanna  county,  only  8,485  are  in  the  city 
af  Scranton,  while  another  army  of  over  24,000  males  find  em- 
ployment in  that  city  in  the  various  professions,  trades  and 
3ommerce,  manufacturing  and  mechanism,  etc.  But  in  Schuyl- 
kill county,  out  of  49,592  males  engaged  in  occupations,  33,- 
228  are  engaged  in  mining,  while  the  remaining  16,364  are 
engaged  in  various  pursuits  supplying  the  wants  of  the  mining 
population.  In  Lackawanna  county,  53.23  per  cent,  of  the 
male  workers  are  mine  employees;  in  Schuylkill,  67  per  cent, 
are  so  employed.  So  that  the  latter  county  gives  us  a  truer 
percentage  of  increase  in  the  mining  population  during  the  last 
lecade  than  the  general  percentage  for  the  three  counties. 

Immigration  into  the  anthracite  coal  fields  has  virtually 
3eased.  A  large  percentage  of  the  increase  from  1880  to  1890 
was  due  to  Sclav  immigrants.  These  peoples  furnished  the 
3heap  lal)or  needed  in  the  development  of  the  thinner  veins  of 
3oal,  and  supplied  the  operators  with  men  willing  to  work 
ander  conditions  which  labor  of  a  higher  grade  resented.  The 
Sclavs  represent  possibly  the  lowest  grade  of  European  work- 
men that  can  be  imported,  and  Congress  being  in  its  present 
frame  of  mind,  it  is  not  likely  that  oriental  countries  will  sup- 
ply operators  with  labor  still  cheaper,  which  would  displace  the 
Sclav  as  he  displaced  the  Anglo-Saxon,  the  Celt  and  German. 


14  ANTHRACITE    COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

The  increase  of  population  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  in  future 
will  depend  chiefly  upon  natality.  The  present  population  is 
amply  sufficient  to  furnish  the  necessary  labor  for  the  maximum 
tonnage  the  collieries  can  produce.  Conditions  in  the  industry 
will  not  improve,  and  for  many  years  past  they  have  ceased 
to  attract  British  miners.  The  law  of  social  capillarity  will 
continue  to  raise  the  social  standard  of  descendants  of  foreign 
born  parents,  and  a  certain  percentage  of  them  will  leave  the 
mines,  but  the  birth  rate  of  the  Sclav  population  will  more  than 
supply  the  labor  needed  in  an  industry  which  will  soon  be  de- 
clining. For  these  reasons,  we  cannot  expect  future  immi- 
grants to  our  country  to  settle  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  to 
any  great  extent. 

By  the  last  report  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines,  there  are  143,826 
mine  employees.  This  number  of  males  earning  wages  gives  us 
a  population  of  about  450,000  directly  dependent  for  a  living 
upon  the  mines.  Another  army  of  about  60,000  male  and  20,- 
000  female  wage  earners  are  engaged  in  the  professions,  trades, 
transportation,  domestic  work,  manufacturing  and  mechanism. 
These  avenues  of  employment  are  mainly  ancillary  to  the  chief 
industry  of  the  anthracite  area,  and  sustain  a  population  of 
about  180,000  indirectly  dependent  upon  mining.  Thus  within 
the  anthracite  coal  area  we  have  a  total  of  630,000  persons, 
mediately  or  immediately  deriving  their  subsistence  from  the 
production  of  the  anthracite  collieries. 

In  the  cities  of  Scranton  and  Wilkesbarre,  females  form 
22.7  per  cent,  and  23.6  per  cent,  respectively  of  the  wage 
earners.  Outside  these  two  cities,  in  the  area  under  consider- 
ation, the  females  earning  wages  to  aid  the  family  in  the  con- 
flict of  life  do  not  exceed  5.5  per  cent,  of  the  total  wage  class. 
That  is  due  to  the  want  of  manufacturing  industries,  which  are, 
comparatively  speaking,  few  in  number  outside  the  cities  men- 
tioned. Hence  the  mining  industry  is  peculiar  in  this  regard, 
that  it  casts  the  burden  of  supporting  the  family  upon  the  male 
members.  This  fact  necessarily  influences  the  economic  and 
social  conditions  of  the  youth  of  both  sexes  in  mining  towns. 
The  boys  are  put  to  work  at  an  early  age  in  order  to  increase 


OUR    MINING   POPULATION.  15 

;he  family  income ;  the  girls,  wholly  dependent  on  others  for 
heir   maintenance  and  having  no  way  of  earning  an   inde- 
pendent competency  to  supply  their  wants,  are  on  the  one  hand 
subject  to  serious  temptations  because  of  lack  of  means,  and  on 
he  other  tend  to  enter  inconsiderately  into  marriage  to  relieve 
he  economic  tension  of  the  home.     It  also  places  the  average 
amily  in  mining  towns  as  compared  with  that  in  cities  at  a 
lisadvantage,  because  of  the  want  of  industries  wherein  the 
emales  may  earn  a  competency.     Families  in  mining  towns 
ind  it  easier  to  carry  on  the  conflict  of  life  when  the  children 
re  male  than  when  they  are  female.     Boys  can  find  employ- 
aent,  but  few  are  the  avenues  open  to  girls  in  which  they  can 
aake  a  living.     In  every  town  and  village  there  is  a  supply 
f  energy  which  could  be  productively  used,  if  certain  lines  of  in 
ustry  could  be  introduced.    As  things  are,  the  energy  of  nearly 
alf  the  youths  of  our  area  is  not  productively  used,  and  the  eco- 
omic,  social  and  moral  progress  of  these  groups  will  not  be  se- 
ared until  they  are  wisely  directed  into  channels  of  usefulness. 
The  foreign  born  immigrants  and  the  majority  of  their  de- 
3endants,  as  above  stated,  depend  upon  the  production  of  these 
lines  for  their  subsistence.     Few  are  the  industries  which 
Duld  be  carried  on  in  these  communities  if  coal  were  not  con- 
eniently  and  cheaply  furnished  them.     The  lean  and  fat  years 
1  these  regions  can  be  estimated  according  to  the  amount  of 
)al  shipped  to  market  in  exchange  for  which  our  people  secure 
16  necessaries  and  enjoyments  of  life.     During  the  last  thirty 
ears  the  number  of  tons  produced  per  mine  employee  varied 
om  252  to  405.     The  average  production  per  mine  employee, 
om   1870  to   1901  inclusive,  was  343  tons  per  year.     The 
irt  of  this  productive  wealth  given  to  laborers  maintains  them 
id  their  families.     The  adult  laborer's  share  does  not,  on  an 
7erage,  amount  to  $500  a  year.     From  this  sum  the  necessa- 
es  of  life  must  be  procured,  a  family  raised,  and  whatever 
)mforts  and  enjoyments  mine  employees  have  these  must  also 
»me  from  the  same  source. 

Much  has  been  said  of  late  as  to  the  inadequacy  of  this  sum 
enable  the  laborer  to  secure  the  American  standard  of  living ; 


16 


ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 


little  is  said  of  the  productive  efficiency  necessary  to  attain  tha 
end.  To  attempt  to  fix  the  laborer's  income  by  a  standard  c 
living,  regardless  of  his  productive  power,  is  to  attempt  th 
impossible.  The  progress  of  society  depends  upon  increasin 
the  productive  capacity  of  the  individual  so  that  he  will  b 
able  to  earn  more  than  bare  subsistence  for  himself  and  famil} 
And  the  fact  that  a  large  percentage  of  mine  employees  hav 
been  able  to  earn  wages  in  this  industry  amply  sufficient  i 
raise  the  social  standard  of  themselves  and  family,  is  a  proo 
that  a  capable  workman,  by  thrift  and  industry,  can  do  moi 
than  simply  conserve  the  bodily  existence  of  himself  and  thoj 
dependent  upon  him. 

The  aggregate  wealth  annually  produced  in  the  anthracii 
coal  mines  has  made  this  area  one  of  the  best  business  sectior 
in  our  State.  The  commercial  prosperity  of  our  community 
will  undoubtedly  decline  as  the  sum  total  of  wealth  from  tl 
collieries  diminishes.  The  following  table  gives  the  approx 
mate  number  of  tons  per  capita  of  population  dependent  upc 
anthracite  mining  produced  at  the  collieries  for  the  years  mei 
tioned. 


Year. 

Tons  per  Capita. 

Year. 

Tons  per  Capita. 

1840 
1850 
1860 
1870 

13.7 
29.8 
47.3 
45.1 

1880 
1890 
1900 

70.4 
86.3 
86.4 

Up  to  1890,  with  the  exception  of  1870,  which  was  an  a 
normal  year  because  of  industrial  friction,  the  per  capita  pr 
duction  of  the  mines  shows  a  vigorous  growth.  The  last  deca 
stands  in  striking  contrast  with  this.  Here  a  stage  of  eqi 
librium  is  reached,  and  the  next  decade  will  see  a  reduction 
the  number  of  tons  per  capita  of  population  directly  or  indirect 
dependent  on  the  anthracite  coal  industry. 

This  fact  will  have  an  important  bearing  upon  the  financ 
and  commercial  life  of  these  communities.  A  financier,  w 
has  been  in  business  for  many  years  in  the  coal  fields  sa 
"  Business  here  is  not  what  it  used  to  be."     When  asked  wl 


OUR   MINING  POPULATION.  17 

was  the  reason  for  the  change,  he  replied :  "  In  former  years 
the  operators  lived  in  the  coal  fields  and  spent  their  money 
here,  but  of  late  they  are  absentees."  This  may  account  for  a 
fractional  part  of  the  depression,  but  the  prime  source  lies  in 
the  fact  that  the  collieries  having  passed  through  a  period  of 
extensive  evolution  and  are  now  in  the  intensive  stage,  and  the 
aggregate  wealth  produced,  estimated  in  per  capita  of  the  popu- 
lation, is  not  so  large  as  it  was  in  former  years.  From  1870 
to  1895  the  building  and  loan  associations  did  a  thriving  busi- 
ness in  the  coal  fields.  In  the  last  decade  their  business  has 
fallen  off  considerably,  for  many  of  our  towns  have  not  in- 
creased in  population  for  the  last  six  years.  A  large  birth-rate 
will  continue  to  add  to  the  population,  and  as  the  necessaries  of 
life  will  make  an  ever-increasing  demand  upon  the  sum  total  of 
wealth  produced,  business  men  who  handle  goods  of  positive 
utility  will  find  increased  trade,  while  those  who  handle  goods 
of  neutral  utility  will  be  confronted  by  market  conditions  which 
grow  annually  more  stringent. 

The  conflict  for  subsistence  will  also  grow  more  intense  to 
the  individual  and  the  family  in  the  coal  fields  under  the 
pressure  of  the  Malthusian  law.  The  tension  will  undoubtedly 
be  relieved  by  the  migration  of  the  young  and  the  enterprising 
to  other  parts  of  the  country.  Labor  moves  freely  among  us, 
but  the  ties  of  home  and  family,  social  affiliations  and  pecuniary 
interests  will  so  retard  the  movement  that  the  intensity  of  the 
conflict  will  be  felt  by  our  people  and  will  become  the  occasion 
of  friction  in  the  industrial  and  political  life  of  these  com- 
munities. 

The  elements  of  our  population  have  been,  during  the  last , 
thirty  years,  in  a  condition  of  flux,  which  is  not  advantageous 
to  social  progress.  Mining  is  disagreeable  work.  The  thrifty 
members  of  our  society  rise  to  more  congenial  employments. 
Hence,  annually,  there  is  a  withdrawal  and  migration  of  the 
^lite  of  the  group,  and  the  loss  thus  caused  to  mining  communi- 
ties is  intensified  by  the  influx  of  less  advanced  elements  as 
well  as  by  the  natural  operation  of  the  Malthusian  law.  To 
secure  the  progressive  advancement  of  society  in  the  anthracite 
3 


18  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

coal  fields  under  these  conditions  is  very  difficult.  As  soon  as 
the  receptive  members  of  mining  towns  are  trained  in  and 
acquire  the  principles  upon  which  the  social  fabric  of  our  insti- 
tutions rests,  they  withdraw  to  the  cities  or  migrate,  leaving  the 
work  of  schooling  the  less  apt  as  well  as  the  new  individual^ 
added  to  these  communities  to  the  few  who  are  moved  by 
patriotic  or  philanthropic  motives  to  undertake  it. 

The  character  of  the  population  of  this  area  has  perceptibly? 
deteriorated  in  the  last  thirty  years.  A  selection  has  beer 
effected  but  in  a  retrogressive  sense.  The  physical  strength  o' 
the  accretions  of  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  may  favorabl} 
compare  with  that  of  any  previous  period,  but  their  intellectual 
and  moral  qualities  are  decidedly  lower.  This  has  not  resulted 
wholly  from  the  influx  of  needy,  ignorant  and  incapable  work- 
men, but  also  from  the  degeneracy  of  the  descendants  of  th( 
shiftless  and  thriftless  immigrants  of  past  generations.  These 
too  lazy  to  work  and  too  poor  to  emigrate,  lead  a  parasitic  life 
and  give  nothing  in  return  to  the  communities  but  corruptioi 
in  politics,  agitation  in  industry,  and  debauchery  in  society. 

In  every  healthful  community  there  are  two  elements,  viz. 
the  conservative,  which  opposes  change  and  is  anxious  to  keej 
things  as  they  were,  and  the  liberal  which  is  anxious  to  change 
things  according  as  the  environment  changes.  When  thes( 
elements  are  kept  in  approximate  equilibrium,  so  that  vigorou 
conflict  ensues,  the  organism  is  strengthened  and  progres 
follows.  If  either  of  them  so  triumphs  that  conflict  cease 
then  disorganization  and  degeneracy  are  the  consequences 
Now,  the  withdrawal  of  the  ^lite  members  from  anthracit 
communities  means  the  weakening  of  the  conservative  factor 
and  the  readier  subjection  of  those  remaining  to  the  cruditie 
and  vagaries  of  the  ignorant  and  the  designing.  Well  has  i 
been  said  that  'Hhe  chief  errors  of  the  world,  as  well  as  it 
chief  evils,  have  a  common  origin  in  ignorance."  Many  o 
our  communities  greatly  suffer  because  of  the  absence  of 
strong,  intelligent,  honest  and  conservative  element.  The  so 
called  liberal  factor  in  mining  towns  abuses  power,  ignore 
precedents  and  is  ignorant  of  the  principles  of  social  healtb 


OUR   MINING   POPULATION. 


19 


It  has  no  regard  for  facts,  no  veneration  for  learning,  no  grati- 
tude for  benefits  and  no  consideration  for  the  historical  founda- 
tions of  the  municipality  and  the  state.  Unconscious  of  its 
own  ignorance  and  incapacity,  it  substitutes  blatant  arrogance 
for  efficiency  and  wilful  daring  for  careful  and  competent 
investigation.  This  lowest  stratum  of  the  liberal  factor  dis- 
turbs the  peace  of  these  communities,  leads  to  culpable  waste- 
fulness in  management  of  public  finance,  and  confounds  indus- 
trial relations  so  that  the  mining  business  is  either  raised  to 
the  verge  of  a  revolution  or  debased  to  the  condition  of  abject 
servitude. 

The  Twenty-six  Peoples  Now  Eesiding  Here. 

The  labor  required  for  the  development  of  the  anthracite 
coal  fields  has  been  furnished  by  immigrants.  In  the  first  fifty 
years  of  the  development  of  the  industry,  the  British  Isles  and 
Germany  furnished  the  supply.  In  the  last  twenty-five  years 
the  Sclav  nations  of  southern  Europe  have  done  so.  The 
change  in  the  character  of  the  immigrants  to  the  United  States 
is  synonymous  with  that  which  has  taken  place  in  these  coal 
fields. 

The  following  table  brings  out  very  clearly  the  increase  per- 
centage of  Sclav  and  the  decrease  of  British  and  German 
immigrants  to  the  United  States,  as  given  by  the  Commissioner 
of  Immigration. 


Year. 

Sclav  and  Italian. 

British  and  German. 

1861-70 
1871-80 
1881-90 
1901 

1.05% 

6.44 
17.65 
68.50 

77.38% 
57.46 
52.72 
13.50 

In  the  census  of  1870,  the  Sclav  element  in  Lackawanna, 
Luzerne  and  Schuylkill  counties  was  hardly  perceptible.  In 
the  last  census  they  numbered  72,748. 

In  1880,  not  5  per  cent,  of  the  mine  employees  were  Sclavs, 
to-day  about  50  per  cent,  of  them  belong  to  these  races.  In 
the  report  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines  for  the  year  1900,  returns 


20  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

from  232  collieries  showed  42.31  per  cent,  of  the  employees 
classified  as  "  non-Euglish  speaking  peoples."  In  this  compu- 
tation the  Sclav  breaker-boys,  most  of  whom  are  native  born, 
are  not  classified  as  "  non-English  speaking.''  These,  however, 
are  Sclavs  in  training  and  sentiment.  The  mine  inspector  of 
the  Fifth  District  had,  in  1902,  51.24  per  cent.  Sclavs  among 
the  employees  in  his  territory.  We  can  safely  say  that  50  per 
cent,  of  the  miners  and  laborers  in  the  anthracite  collieries  are 
Sclavs,  which  gives  us  between  34,000  and  35,000  adult  males 
of  these  nations.  Half  of  these  are  married,  and  being  from 
necessity  endogamous,  their  wives  are  also  Sclavs.  The  17,000 
Sclav  families  give  us  a  population  of  85,000,  and  the  17,000 
bachelors  added  gives  us  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  over 
100,000  of  these  peoples. 

This  change  in  the  character  of  the  labor  force  of  the  anthra- 
cite coal  fields  well  illustrates  a  Gresham  law  operating  in  the 
labor  as  well  as  in  the  financial  world.  The  Anglo-Saxon  * 
mine  employees,  in  the  early  eighties  of  the  last  century,  felt 
the  operation  of  the  law  and  tried  in  various  ways  to  ward  ofl 
its  efi*ect.  Laws  were  passed  to  create  boards  of  examiners  tc 
issue  certificates  of  competency  to  miners.  An  apprenticeship  o: 
two  years  is  required  before  a  laborer  can  become  a  miner,  and 
many  think  that  familiarity  with  the  English  language  is  £ 
necessary  qualification  to  mine  coal.  Social  barriers  also  have 
been  erected  against  the  Sclav,  but  all  to  no  effect.  A  silenl 
but  steady  exodus  of  the  most  intelligent  and  capable  mine 
workers  goes  on,  and  simultaneous  with  it,  the  Sclav,  conscious 
of  his  inferiority,  adapts  himself  to  the  conditions  anc 
thrives. 

The  immigration  of  the  Sclavs  into  the  anthracite  coal  fields 
is  well  illustrated  by  the  following  table,  relative  to  their  settle- 
ment in  the  cities  of  Scranton  and  Wilkesbarre. 

*  The  word  Anglo-Saxon  is  used  in  this  work  to  designate  the  English 
speaking  mine  employees,  and  the  word  Sclav  to  designate  those  who  an 
generally  called  " foreigners"  and  have  little  or  no  command  of  the  Englisl 
language.  This  use  of  the  word,  though  not  ethnologically  correct,  gives  U! 
a  simple  means  of  contrasting  these  two  elements  of  our  population  withoui 
naming  the  various  races  in  the  groups. 


OUR  MINING   POPULATION. 


21 


SCRANTON. 


Year. 

Austro- 
Hungary. 

Poles. 

Italians. 

Bussians. 

Bohe- 
mians. 

Total. 

Percentage 
of  Foreign 
Population. 

1870 
1880 
1890 
1900 

7 

28 
1,106 
1,390 

15 

67 

600 

3,750 

7 

12 

367 

1,312 

0 

27 
488 
671 

0 

4 

11 

63 

29 
138 

2,572 
7,186 

.18 

.87 

9.00 

24.80 

Wllkesbarre. 

1890 
1900 

382 
601 

393 
1,632 

23 

189 

149 
469 

29 
19 

976 
2,910 

9.57 
23.85 

The  steady  flow  of  Sclavs  and  Italians  into  the  population 
of  these  cities  is  synonymous  with  what  has  been  going  on  in 
the  anthracite  coal  area.  The  change  has  been  more  thorough, 
however,  in  mining  villages  and  towns  than  in  the  above  cities. 
Many  mining  camps,  which  in  the  seventies  were  inhabited  by 
Irish,  English  and  Welsh,  have  passed  wholly  into  the  hands 
of  the  Sclavs,  while  every  mining  town  has  within  it  a  colony 
wholly  composed  of  "foreigners."  In  1870,  of  the  38,161 
foreign  born  persons  engaged  in  mining  in  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania only  121  or  3  per  cent,  were  Sclavs  and  Italians.  By 
1890  the  proportion  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  was  25.67  per 
cent,  and  in  1900  it  had  reached  46.36  per  cent. 

The  foreign  born  peoples  forming  about  32  per  cent,  of  the 
total  population  of  our  area  represent  26  different  nationalities. 
They  are  English,  Welsh,  Scotch,  Irish,  German,  Swedes, 
French,  Swiss,  Dutch,  Poles,  Sclavonians,  Austrians,  Hungar- 
ians, Bohemians,  Tyrolese,  Russians,  Lithuanians,  Greeks, 
Italians,  Hebrews,  Negroes,  Arabians,  Cubans,  Mexicans, 
Spaniards  and  Chinese.  The  last  seven  mentioned  form  an 
insignificant  portion  of  the  total  population.  The  Sclavs  and 
Italians  would  form  about  15  per  cent.,  the  Anglo-Saxons  and 
Germans  17  per  cent.,  and  the  remainder  68  per  cent,  native 
born.  If,  however,  we  classify  the  native  born  of  foreign  par- 
entage with  the  foreign  born  we  have  over  70  per  cent,  of  the 
population  in  that  class. 

Some  economists  have  said,  that  the  labor  necessary  for  the 
development  of  our  industries  would  have  been  supplied  by  the 


■J 


22  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

natural  increase  of  the  colonists  if  immigration  had  not  taken 
place.  This  statement  [loses  sight  of  the  operation  of  the  law 
of  social  capillarity  and  the  unpleasant  nature  of  some  work 
necessarily  connected  with  industrial  development.  The  work 
of  mining  coal  is  dangerous  and  unpleasant,  and  descendants 
of  miners  as  a  rule  in  our  country  cherish  a  strong  aversion  to 
working  underground.  The  young  men,  who  graduate  from 
the  public  schools,  will  not  enter  the  mines  if  they  can  possibly 
earn  a  living  elsewhere.  Those  of  this  class,  who  gain  a  sub- 
sistence in  the  collieries,  perform  the  lighter  work.  Mine  fore- 
men invariably  say  that  the  native  born  mine  employee  shirks 
hard  work.  Dr.  A.  G.  Keller  says  that  the  experience  of  the 
German  colonists  is  that  a  highly  educated  negro  is  a  "  Schurke  " 
and  absolutely  useless  for  all  practical  purposes.  The  consensus 
of  opinion  among  superintendents  and  foremen  in  the  anthra- 
cite coal  industry  is  that  the  mines  could  never  be  operated  \i 
they  depended  upon  the  native  bom  for  the  labor  supply.  It 
would  be  well  for  the  censors  of  foreigners  to  remember  this. 
These  immigrants  are  the  hewers  of  wood  and  the  carriers  oi 
water  in  the  land,  and  entrepreneurs  would  find  it  far  more 
difficult  to  carry  on  their  operations  if  the  supply  of  foreigti 
labor  were  not  at  hand  to  perform  menial  toil  which  is  shirked 
by  wage-earners  on  a  higher  social  plane. 

The  labor,  which  has  developed  the  anthracite  coal  fields  has 
virtually  been  wholly  supplied  by  emmigrants  and  their  de- 
scendants of  the  first  generation.  This  class  in  our  area  form 
over  70  per  cent,  of  the  total  population,  while  in  the  country  at 
large  they  form  only  32.93  per  cent.  In  the  census  of  1874 
of  the  152,107  persons  engaged  in  mining,  94,719  or  68. 8C 
per  cent,  were  foreign  born.  If  we  add  to  the  foreign  born  tht 
number  of  native  born  of  foreign  parentage  engaged  in  mining 
the  percentage  will  be  much  higher. 


Year. 

Foreign  Born. 

Per  cent,  of  Population. 

1860 

49,753 

27.70 

1870 

85,544 

30.84 

1880 

88,779 

25.20 

1890 

142,035 

28.55 

1900 

161,357 

25.86 

OUR   MINING   POPULATION.  23 

The  preceding  table  gives  the  number  of  foreign  born  in  the 
counties  of  Lackawanna,  Luzerne  and  Schuylkill  for  the  years 
specified. 

This  gives  an  average  of  27.62  per  cent,  of  the  total  popu- 
lation of  the  above  counties  as  foreign  born.  In  1870  in  the 
three  mentioned  counties,  when  the  foreign  born  were  of  Saxon 
and  Teutonic  extraction,  56.42  per  cent,  of  the  total  population 
was  either  foreign  born  or  native  born  of  foreign  parentage. 
In  1900,  when  nearly  half  those  of  alien  births  are  Sclavs,  we 
have  63.13  per  cent,  of  the  total  population  either  foreign  born 
or  native  born  of  foreign  parentage.  An  investigation  into  the 
nature  of  the  population  of  thirteen  purely  mining  towns  located 
in  the  Northern  coal  fields,  resulted  in  32.77  per  cent,  of  the 
total  population  being  foreign  born,  and  72.22  per  cent,  either 
foreign  born  or  native  born  of  foreign  parentage.  It  is  safe  to 
say  that  an  average  of  70  per  cent,  of  the  630,000  people  in 
the  anthracite  coal  fields  is  either  foreign  born  or  native  born 
of  foreign  parentage.  In  other  words,  441,000  of  the  total 
population  in  the  area  under  consideration  are  either  foreign 
born  or  native  born  of  foreign  parentage.  These  have  fur- 
nished the  labor  necessary  to  produce  the  annual  tonnage  of 
anthracite  coal  sent  to  market.  There  is  much  that  is  socially 
and  morally  undesirable  in  the  foreigners  engaged  in  mining, 
but  the  fact  that  the  brawn  and  muscle  necessary  for  the  pro- 
duction of  coal  has  been  furnished  by  them  should  never  be 
lost  sight  of. 

It  is  not  long  since  when  the  mines  of  the  civilized  world 
were  manned  by  serfs,  slaves  and  convicts.  The  last  class  of 
serfs  on  British  soil  to  receive  emancipation  from  conditions 
which  made  them  little  better  than  chattels  was  mine  employees. 
This  possibly  accounts  for  the  public  sentiment  which  places  a 
low  estimate  on  mine  workers.  In  the  hierarchy  of  labor 
tradition  has  assigned  the  "  colliers  "  a  place  low  down  in  the 
social  scale,  and  public  opinion  in  a  country  where  manual 
labor  is  more  highly  honored  than  in  any  other  land  still  clings 
to  that  sentiment.  This  is  due  to  bias  and  ignorance  of  mine 
employees.  -  They  deserve  greater  honor  as  a  body  of  able  men 


24  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

in  the  array  of  producers.  Few  classes  of  workers  sacrifice  as 
many  lives  as  they  do  in  bringing  their  portion  to  the  national 
fund,  and,  considering  the  nature  of  their  calling  and  the 
danger  incident  to  it,  this  class  of  workers  does  not  take  an 
undue  proportion  of  the  store  of  wealth  produced  by  its  labor. 
This  heterogeneous  confluence  of  so  many  European  nations 
has  a  marked  influence  upon  the  economic,  social  and  moral 
life  of  these  communities.  L.  F.  Ward  has  said  that  "the  con- 
dition of  the  European  race  is  such  now  that  in  point  of  aver- 
age capacity  there  is  probably,  except  in  isolated  localities,  no 
distinction  in  the  different  ranks  or  social  stations  in  life." 
From  a  scientific  standpoint  few  would  take  exception  to  this 
statement,  but  in  the  practical  affairs  of  life,  where  racial  pride 
and  prejudice  play  so  great  a  part,  few  indeed  would  concur 
with  this  view.  Nothing  is  so  conspicuous  in  communities 
where  the  races  of  men  mix  as  the  ethnic  confidence  found  in 
each  group.  The  social  standing  of  many  shiftless  Anglo- 
Saxons  in  these  communities  is  the  lowest  imaginable,  and  yet 
they  ever  insist  upon  their  superiority  to  the  Sclav  and  are 
indignant  if  classified  with  him.  In  a  miserable  mining  patch 
we  found  an  isolated  English-speaking  family  among  many 
Sclavs.  The  conversation  had  hardly  passed  beyond  the  usual 
exchange  of  courtesies  when  the  woman  pointed  with  contempt 
to  her  neighbors  and  said  :  "  We  don't  have  nothing  to  do 
with  them.''  Estimating  the  social  status  of  the  speaker  by 
her  personal  appearance  and  the  surroundings  of  the  house  in 
which  she  lived,  the  lowest  Sclav  would  not  be  improved  if  she 
did  associate  with  her.  This  ethnic  pride  is  also  found  among 
the  Sclav.  The  impoverished  Magyar  always  insists  upon  his 
social  superiority  to  the  equally  impoverished  Hun.  The  Pole 
looks  with  contempt  upon  the  Lithuanian  and  the  latter  is 
prompt  to  assert  his  claim  to  a  more  remote  ancestry  and  an 
older  civilization  than  the  former.  This  racial  pride,  equally 
strong  in  each  race,  is  the  cause  of  many  conflicts  between  these 
men  when  they  meet  over  their  cups.  In  the  early  years  of 
mining  it  precipitated  many  a  conflict  between  the  immigrants 
of  the  various  races  from  the  British  Isles,  and  the  bloody  and 


OUR  MINING   POPULATION.  25 

fatal  quarrels,  which  so  frequently  take  place  among  the  Sclavs 
are  due  to  the  same  cause.  It  has  its  influence  upon  the 
industry.  The  Pole  and  Lithuanian  will  not  work  together. 
Foremen  have  to  study  national  proclivities  and  prejudices  with 
regard  to  the  productive  efficiency  of  groups  of  employees 
under  their  management.  In  large  towns,  where  the  mine 
employees  live,  the  various  races  form  colonies  and  generally 
keep  within  the  limits  of  the  section  appropriated  by  them. 
Hence  we  have  "  Scotch  Eoad,'^  "  Murphy's  Patch,"  "  Welsh 
Hill,"  "  Hun  Town,"  "  Little  Germany,"  "  Little  Italy,"  etc. 
In  these  various  sections  national  customs  and  usages  are  per- 
petuated, and  ethnic  peculiarities  do  not  cease  when  we  enter 
the  moral  and  religious  spheres. 

The  physical  endurance  of  the  average  Sclav  is  unquestion- 
ably equal  to  that  of  the  average  workman  of  any  nation.  His 
intellectual  capacity  clogged  "  by  the  weight  of  centuries  "  is 
not  equal  to  that  of  the  German  and  British  workman.  In 
speaking  of  the  Russians,  Mr.  Ward  said  that  they  are  a  few 
centuries  behind  the  rest  of  the  civilized  world,  but  that  "there 
is  no  people  on  the  globe  more  capable  of  making  proper  use  of 
knowledge  if  presented  to  them."  This  is  true  of  our  Sclav 
population,  and  we  can  undoubtedly  look  forward  to  a  rapid 
development  of  the  physical  and  intellectual  energies  of  these 
peoples,  under  the  benignant  influence  of  an  environment  which 
favors  social  progress. 

It  is  impossible  for  these  representatives  of  various  European 
races  to  meet  in  industrial  and  social  life,  no  matter  how  great 
the  barrier  of  national  pride,  prejudice  and  suspicion  be,  with- 
out each  unconsciously  influencing  the  other.  And  the  action 
of  these  forces  of  competition  and  conflict  will  undoubtedly 
awaken  the  energies  of  the  Sclav  to  greater  efflorescence  than 
they  ever  manifested  in  the  fatherland.  Unfortunately  for  the 
Sclav,  as  well  as  for  society,  the  element  of  our  population  most 
accessible  to  him  is  not  the  best.  A  certain  percentage  of  the 
early  immigrants  has  not  improved  its  opportunities.  It  has 
degenerated.  Improved  economic  conditions  only  furnish  them 
with  larger  means  to  gratify  appetite,  and  confirm  them  in  vice 


26  ANTHRACITE    COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

and  sensuousness.  These  men  form  the  dregs  of  society  and 
drift  into  the  most  disreputable  sections  of  our  towns.  The  Sclav, 
partly  because  of  his  low  standard  of  living  and  partly  because 
of  social  ostracism,  is  also  driven  to  dwell  in  these  sections  of 
mining  towns,  and  if  he  is  inclined  to  imitate  the  English-speak- 
ing peoples,  the  type  nearest  him  is  vile  and  uncomely.  The 
corrupting  influence  of  this  small  and  degenerated  group  of 
Anglo-Saxons  is  far  greater  than  its  numerical  importance  would 
warrant.  The  better  class  of  citizens  stands  aloof,  and  the  at- 
tempt of  aspiring  members  of  the  Sclav  races  to  move  into  the 
better  sections  of  the  towns  is  speedily  resented.  "  It  depreci- 
ates property,"  the  good  people  say.  They  are  blissfully  un- 
conscious of  the  human  depreciation  that  goes  on  in  vile  quarters 
where  the  bestial  passions  of  Anglo-Saxons  defy  the  claims  of 
decency  and  propriety,  and  designing  men  lead  a  parasitic  life 
trading  upon  the  ignorance  and  weaknesses  of  the  Sclavs,  far 
removed  from  the  wholesome  influences  of  home  and  the  re- 
straints of  parents.  If  the  Sclav  is  to  be  improved  the  con- 
servative and  intellectual  class  in  the  mining  towns  ought  to 
exercise  greater  consideration  for  his  aspirations,  and  the  deadly 
influence  of  the  parasites  now  feeding  upon  his  weaknesses 
should  be  counteracted. 

Walter  Bagehot  said  :  "  In  the  early  world  many  mixtures 
must  have  wrought  many  ruins,  they  must  have  destroyed  what 
they  could  not  replace  —  an  inbred  principle  of  discipline  and 
order."  The  mixtures  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  cannot  be 
studied  but  the  conviction  grows  that  the  moral  restraint  due 
to  discipline  and  order  is  largely  wanting.  In  every  town  dif- 
ferences on  the  main  points  of  human  life  are  tolerated.  It 
cannot  be  otherwise  in  a  society  where  customs  differ.  But 
this  tolerance  results  in  carelessness  of  manners  and  leads  to 
skepticism.  Many  are  led  to  believe,  as  they  see  peoples  di- 
verge on  moral  questions,  that  right  and  wrong  are  the  crea- 
tures of  human  caprice,  having  no  objective  validity  in  the 
well  being  of  society.  The  native  born  questions  the  tradi- 
tional ideas  imported  from  beyond  the  seas,  which  were  potent 
factors  in  the  lives  of  his  parents  and  tended  to  the  preserva- 


OUR   MINING    POPULATION.  27 

tion  of  law  and  order.  The  inevitable  consequence  is  moral 
retrogression.  It  is  patent  to  all  and  leads  to  disastrous  con- 
sequences in  the  lives  of  native  born  of  foreign  born  parents. 

The  great  need  of  the  hour  in  mining  communities  is  the 
introduction  of  intellectual  and  moral  forces  which  will  coun- 
teract the  tendency  to  retrogression  from  this  mixture  of  races. 
The  United  Mine  Workers'  Union  is  a  beneficent  and  potent 
factor  in  obliterating  racial  suspicion  and  prejudice.  If  the 
organization  is  preserved  and  its  usefulness  enhanced,  it  will, 
more  powerfully  than  aught  else,  lead  the  way  to  social  prog- 
ress and  assimilation.  The  Sclav  and  Anglo-Saxon  understand 
each  other  better  when  they  meet  in  discussion  over  questions 
of  economic  amelioration  and  cooperate  for  improved  industrial 
conditions.  The  intellectual  and  moral  interests  of  the  mine 
employees  are  not  furthered  by  the  above  organization  as  is  their 
economic.  If  they  were,  we  would  be  more  confident  of  the 
progressive  and  permanent  improvement  of  society  as  found  in 
these  coal  fields.  Lilienfeld  has  said  that  the  progress  of  so- 
ciety can  only  be  secured  when  a  simultaneous  advancement  is 
made  in  the  economic,  political  and  juridical  spheres  of  human 
activity.  The  improvement  in  the  economic  life  of  these  peo- 
ples is  unquestionable,  but  the  anomalies  in  the  juridical  and 
political  life  of  anthracite  communities  are  ominous,  and  unless 
arrested  they  will  work  the  ruin  of  many. 

The  native  born  children  of  foreign  born  parents  furnish  good 
material  to  work  upon.  They  know  little  of  the  prejudices 
and  antipathies  of  their  parents,  and  promiscuously  playing 
and  wrestling  on  the  streets,  learning  the  same  lessons  and 
singing  the  same  songs  in  school,  they  grow  up  a  homogeneous 
people  eager  to  serve  their  country  and  quick  to  grasp  the  ad- 
vantages offered  for  social  advancement.  Under  the  magic 
touch  of  American  civilization  we  can  confidently  hope  for  a 
physically  and  mentally  improved  type  among  the  descendants 
of  the  Sclavs.  All  we  need  is  to  secure  free  opportunity  for 
American  institutions  and  ideas  to  play  upon  these  receptive 
minds  and  hearts,  and  no  children  raised  in  our  public  schools 
will  make  better  use  of  them  and  yield  better  results. 


^ 


CHAPTER   II. 
THE   SCLAV  EMPLOYEES. 

The  Jews  who  Accompany  the  Exodus.  2.  The  Sclav's  Home  in 
THE  Fatherland.  3.  Do  the  Sclavs  Make  Good  Miners?  4. 
Sclavs  Accumulating  Riches.  5.  Do  the  Sclavs  Become  Citizens? 
6.  Clinging  to  Old  Customs. 


The  Jews  who  Accompany  the  Exodus. 

Wherever  the  Sclavs  have  settled  in  these  mining  towns  a 
complement  of  Russian  and  Polish  Jews  is  invariably  found. 
The  returns  of  the  Commissioner  of  Immigration  show  that 
these  immigrants  are  the  poorest  of  the  poor  invading  our  land, 
but  no  sooner  are  they  in  these  communities  than  they  begin  to 
accumulate  riches  and  some  of  them  to-day  are  among  the 
wealthiest  in  our  mining  towns.  The  Jew's  social  status  is  as 
low  as  that  of  the  Sclav  and  many  of  them  adhere  to  the 
standard  of  living  which  they  brought  with  them  from  the 
land  of  their  birth,  notwithstanding  their  material  prosperity 
is  greatly  increased.  They  raise  large  families,  are  tender 
fathers  and  faithful  husbands.  The  males  are  rugged  and  well 
developed  ;  the  females  strong  and  the  mothers  of  children. 

The  Jew  is  seldom  found  engaged  in  manual  labor  in  and 
around  the  mines.  He  settles  among  the  Sclavs,  lives  as  they 
live,  is  as  filthy  as  any  of  the  Hungarians,  but  engages  in  busi- 
ness or  carries  his  pack  from  door  to  door.  He  knows  the 
Sclav,  can  converse  with  him  in  the  various  dialects,  can  cringe 
as  low  as  any  of  them  when  soliciting  business,  can  cater  to  his 
appetite,  and  knows  exactly  the  taste  of  his  patron.  A  few  of 
them  practice  trades  such  as  shoemaking,  tailoring  and  plumb- 
ing, but  most  of  them  are  merchants  of  some  kind  or  other. 
The  poorest  carry  a  pack  of  dry-goods  from  house  to  house.  If 
they  prosper  they  buy  a  horse  and  wagon  and  thus  supply  a 

28 


THE  SCLAV   EMPLOYEES.  29 

larger  number  of  patrons.  Then  they  open  a  store  in  one  room  of 
the  home  they  own  and  in  the  course  of  years  are  found  on  the 
main  street  in  possession  of  a  flourishing  business.  Thrift,  indus- 
try and  perseverance  are  their  characteristics,  and  their  keen  busi- 
ness sense  brings  them  success  when  tradesmen  and  merchants 
of  other  nationalities  are  unable  to  live.  The  clothing  trade  is 
almost  wholly  in  their  hands  and  the  dry-goods  business  is 
rapidly  being  monopolized  by  them  in  our  territory.  Many  of 
them  engage  in  the  wholesale  liquor  business,  sell  to  families 
in  small  quantities  and  are  not  particular  to  keep  within  the 
letter  of  the  law.  We  have  known  some  of  these  men  engaged 
in  private  banking  for  from  ten  to  fifteen  years,  to  have 
handled  thousands  of  dollars  annually,  not  a  cent  of  which  they 
ever  lost  and  never  were  they  guilty  of  a  breach  of  trust  with 
the  Sclavs  who  confided  in  them.  One  of  the  most  prosperous 
of  these  sent  on  an  average  $60,000  annually  in  the  last  de- 
cade to  these  people's  ancestral  homes  and  in  the  year  1901  he 
had  from  $20,000  to  $25,000  of  their  money  in  his  possession. 
He  rarely  paid  interest  unless  the  depositor  had  to  his  credit 
several  hundreds  of  dollars ;  then  he  paid  two  per  cent. 
The  men  could  get  their  money  at  any  hour,  and  often  after  a 
fight  on  pay-night,  the  private  banker  was  called  up  at  mid- 
night to  cash  the  account  of  a  fugitive.  In  the  town  of  Oly- 
phant,  of  13  heads  of  Jewish  families,  only  two  were  without 
real  estate ;  the  others  were  worth  from  $2,000  to  $50,000. 
The  same  is  true  of  this  people  in  other  towns  in  these  coal 
fields. 

The  Polish  and  Russian  Jew  belong  to  the  orthodox  branch 
of  the  Jewish  faith,  and  carry  out  with  minute  exactness  the 
ritual  of  the  orthodox  Hebrew.  The  skema  is  recited  daily, 
the  philacteries  are  just  as  regularly  bound  around  the  arms 
and  forehead,  the  thorah  is  faithfully  taught  the  children  and 
the  studies  pursued  in  the  public  schools  are  not  allowed  to  in- 
terfere with  this  parental  duty.  Wherever  from  ten  to  fifteen 
families  live,  there  a  synagogue  is  erected,  a  teacher  engaged 
and  the  children  daily  drilled  by  him  in  the  faith  of  their 
fathers.     All  the  Jewish  children  attend  the  public  schools,  but 


30  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

in  addition  to  this  they  spend  from  two  to  three  hours  in  the 
private  school  under  the  care  of  their  religious  teacher.  The 
orthodox  Jew  will  not  work  on  Saturday,  but  as  soon  as  the 
sun  is  set  he  is  ready  for  business.  The  trade  they  do  with 
Sclavs  on  Sunday,  after  mass,  is  very  great,  and  it  is  a  matter 
of  general  observation  in  these  communities  to  see  Sclavs  carry- 
ing bundles  —  wet  or  dry  —  as  they  return  from  their  devotions. 
A  Hebrew,  engaged  in  the  wholesale  liquor  business  and  a  gross 
violator  of  the  license  laws  of  the  State,  when  questioned  as  to  the 
religious  life  of  his  people,  showed  us  his  arm  where  the  phil- 
actery  had  been  bound  that  day  and  said  "  Yes,  we  Jews  are 
religious."  One  of  these  private  bankers,  doing  business  with 
the  Sclavs,  kept  on  tap  a  quarter  barrel  of  whiskey  which  was 
an  admirable  lubricant  in  the  transaction  of  business.  The 
guileless  Sclav  is  often  ready  material  to  the  hand  of  the  Jew. 
One  of  these  men,  about  to  return  to  the  fatherland,  drew  $500 
from  a  private  banker  on  which  he  had  received  no  interest  and 
also  bought  his  railroad  and  steamship  tickets  from  him.  The 
Jew  gave  his  daughter,  twelve  years  of  age,  a  present  of  a  pair 
of  shoes,  for  which  the  father  was  very  thankful.  The  Jew, 
however,  knew  his  business,  and  when  asked  about  the  trans- 
action by  a  friend,  said,  "  Yes,  I  was  good  to  him.  I  gave  the 
girl  a  pair  of  shoes  and  charged  him  extra  for  the  passes." 

The  safe-keeping  of  funds  for  the  Sclavs  often  means  a  great 
deal.  Many  of  them  in  mining  camps  and  towns  incur  great 
anxiety  and  trouble  to  safeguard  their  money.  Some  hide  it 
in  the  mines,  others  sew  it  in  their  garments,  others  hide  it  in 
their  trunks  or  secrete  it  in  the  bedding,  etc.  In  all  these  cases 
it  is  a  source  of  constant  anxiety  and  they  know  not  when  it 
may  be  stolen.  Under  such  circumstances  the  reliable  private 
banker  serves  a  useful  purpose  and  the  Sclav  is  willing  to  waive 
the  demand  for  interest,  if  only  he  is  confident  of  the  safe-keep- 
ing of  his  money,  and  can  get  his  savings  when  he  needs  them. 

Many  of  these  Jews  also  make  their  linguistic  capacity  prof- 
itable. In  the  frequent  broils  among  Sclavs  an  interpreter  is 
necessary  in  the  local  court,  and  the  Hebrew  is  called  upon. 
And  not  only  are  his  services  necessary  as  an  interpreter,  but 


THE   SCLAV    EMPLOYEES.  31 

also  he  is  in  demand  as  bail.  His  compensation  as  interpreter 
is  fixed  by  court,  but  his  charges  as  bail  are  often  outrageous. 
Some  of  these  Jews  are  influential  enough  to  stand  between  the 
indicted  and  the  prison  cell,  but  for  the  service  the  criminal 
pays  a  fancy  price. 

As  a  class  the  Jews  are  thrifty  and  industrious,  peaceful  and 
temperate.  In  the  liquor  business  they  are  never  incapable  of 
doing  business.  If  a  barrel  is  kept  on  tap  the  contents  has  no 
temptation  to  them  —  it  is  kept  solely  for  business.  They  are 
mercenary  and  sometimes  violate  the  law  by  embezzling,  or 
receiving  stolen  goods,  and  yet,  generally  speaking,  the  Jew  is 
seldom  implicated  in  crime.  They  occasionally  quarrel  among 
themselves  and  in  the  heat  of  conflict  enter  a  law  suit,  but  they 
invariably  settle  the  dispute  and  save  the  costs  of  prosecution. 
The  Hebrew  is  conservative  and  his  love  of  riches  and  anxiety 
to  acquire  wealth  keep  him  longer  at  a  low  standard  of  living 
than  the  representatives  of  other  nationalities.  He  is  more 
clanish  than  the  Sclav  and  is  less  susceptible  to  the  influences 
which  mould  and  elevate  the  lower  races  which  daily  mingle 
with  Anglo-Saxons  in  industrial  and  social  life.  The  Hebrews 
form  a  colony  within  a  colony,  and  only  come  in  contact  with 
other  nationalities  in  business.  When  their  sphere  of  business 
is  among  the  Sclavs,  it  is  easily  seen  how  they  are  slower  to 
respond  to  the  demands  of  civilization  than  nations  with  less 
business  capacity  than  they. 

The  Sclav's  Home  in  the  Fatherland. 

The  Sclavs  of  Europe  occupy  the  eastern  portion  of  the  con- 
tinent which  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Baltic  Sea  and  the 
Ural  Mountains,  on  the  south  by  the  Black  Sea,  on  the  north 
by  the  White  Sea,  and  on  the  west  by  the  German  Empire. 
They  are  divided  into  two  groups,  the  northern  and  the 
southern,  both  of  which  are  brachycephalic,  but  the  southern 
differs  from  the  northern  in  being  taller  and  darker.  Those 
who  are  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  come  from  the  regions  bor- 
dering the  Baltic  Sea  on  the  north  and  extending  to  the  south 
as  far  as  the  Black  Sea,  including  the  province  of  Galicia  which 


32  ANTHRACITE   COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

is  the  southwest  section  of  the  Russian  Empire  and  Austria. 
The  nations  represented  are  the  Letts,  Slovaks,  Ruthenians, 
Hungarians,  Magyars,  Poles  and  Bohemians.  The  Slovaks, 
\  Hungarians,  Magyars  and  Poles  come  from  provinces  subject 
j  to  Russia,  Austro-Hungary  and  Germany.  They  are  broad- 
headed,  their  complexion  light,  their  body  compactly  put 
together,  their  shoulders  broad,  their  chest  deep,  with  well 
developed  arms  and  legs.  Many  of  the  Poles  are  brunette 
which  suggests  a  mixture  with  the  dark  races  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean. The  Little  Russians  or  Ruthenians  come  chiefly  from 
Galicia  and  are  subject  to  the  Czar.  Their  dialect  differs  con- 
siderably from  the  Russian  language,  but  they  belong  to  the 
Russian  family  and  have  furnished  the  Czar  the  Cossack  troops 
which  have  played  so  important  a  part  in  European  history. 
The  Ruthenians  clearly  show  a  mixture  of  blood,  for  many  of 
them  are  darker  and  smaller  than  the  typical  Sclav,  while  the 
shape  of  their  skull  and  their  psychical  characteristics  differ- 
entiate them  from  the  Slovak  and  the  Huns.  The  Letts  cannot 
be  exactly  classified  with  the  Sclavs.  They  are  said  to  be  a 
part  of  the  northern  branch  of  the  European  Aryans  and  are 
considered  to  be  among  the  early  inhabitants  of  Europe  prior 
to  the  invasion  of  the  Sclav.  Their  leaders  claim  their  people 
to  be  one  of  the  aboriginal  races  of  Europe,  which  settled  in 
that  country  previous  to  the  immigration  of  either  Teuton  or 
Sclav  from  the  steppes  of  Asia.  The  nation  has  a  romantic 
history  and,  having  stood  for  centuries  the  onslaught  of  succes- 
sive bands  of  Teutons  and  Sclavs  in  quest  of  a  better  home 
than  the  steppes  of  Asia,  they  were  forced  to  occupy  some  of  the 
most  inhospitable  regions  on  the  continent  of  Europe.  When 
the  Letts  lost  their  independence,  the  Russian  government 
compelled  them  to  learn  the  Russian  language,  nevertheless 
they  have  preserved  their  native  tongue  which  some  linguists 
believe  to  be  one  of  the  most  archaic  members  of  the  great 
Aryan  family.  The  male  members  of  the  race  can  speak  both 
Russian  and  Lithuanian,  but  the  female  as  a  rule  have  com- 
mand only  of  the  latter.  For  many  centuries  the  Letts  and  the 
Sclavs  have  freely  mixed  so  that  they  are  to-day  classified  as 


THE  SCLAV   EMPLOYEES.  33 

one.  The  former  are  blonde  and  some  of  them  are  as  fair  as 
the  Swede.  The  men  are  tall  and  make  a  more  favorable  im- 
pression than  the  Hun  or  Slovak.  Their  standard  of  living 
is  as  low  as  any,  while  the  brutal  fights,  which  frequently 
occur  among  them,  confirm  the  opinion  that  they  are  as  savage 
as  any  class  in  the  coal  fields.  We  have  also  a  few  families  of 
Bohemians  which  clearly  show  the  Sclav  type,  to  which  they 
are  bound  by  both  social  and  traditional  ties. 

We  have  many  Italians  in  our  territory  who  are  classified 
with  the  Sclav  as  cheap  labor.  The  Italian  is  very  rarely 
found  working  under  ground.  Many  of  this  race  are  found  in 
the  Fifth  Mining  District  and  have  nearly  monopolized  the 
work  in  stripping  raining.  They  also  work  on  railroads,  in 
works  of  excavation,  while  the  trade  of  shoemaking  and  repair- 
ing as  well  as  the  conducting  of  fruit  stands  is  rapidly  pass- 
ing into  their  hands.  We  have  many  Tyrolese  also,  who  work 
underground  and  are  expert  rockmen.  They  are  not  so  clearly 
distinguished  from  the  Sclav  as  the  Italian  and  are  generally 
regarded  by  our  people  as  belonging  to  the  Sclavs. 

Nearly  all  these  peoples  have  come  to  the  coal  fields  from 
agricultural  communities.  Some  of  them  have  been  raised 
under  the  allotment  system  which  prevailed  in  feudal  times. 
They  are  all  familiar  with  agricultural  labor  which  is  manifest 
in  the  interest  they  take  in  gardening,  and,  during  the  strike  of 
1902,  many  of  them  willingly  migrated  to  farms  where  they 
were  occupied  as  common  laborers.  They  were  raised  on 
coarse  fare  on  the  farms  of  their  native  country  and  from  their 
youth  were  inured  to  hard  work  and  hard  living.  Their  prin- 
cipal articles  of  diet  were  rye  or  barley  bread,  oats,  beets,  cab- 
bage and  potatoes.  Meat  was  a  luxury,  and  most  of  them  con- 
sidered themselves  fortunate  if  they  got  it  once  a  week,  which 
generally  fell  on  Sundays.  Cattle  and  sheep  were  raised  on  the 
farms  but  these  were  generally  sold  to  get  money  to  pay  the 
rent,  the  taxes,  and  supply  the  family  with  articles  of  clothing 
which  they  themselves  could  not  produce  on  the  farm.  The 
clothing  they  wore  was  home-spun.  The  raw  material  was 
gathered  in  the  summer,  prepared  into  thread  in  the  fall,  and 
4 


^f 


34  ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

woven  into  cloth  in  the  winter  months.  Adults  tried  to  get  on' 
new  suit  each  year. 

Practically  all  our  immigrants  belong  to  the  laboring  clas 
who  lived  in  houses  provided  by  the  landlords.  Attached  t 
the  home  in  the  fatherland  are  four  or  five  acres  of  land  whicl 
are  cultivated  by  the  tenant  and  form  part  of  his  wages.  Ver 
little  money  circulates  among  them  and  they  are  generall; 
ignorant  of  the  use  of  money.  The  head  of  a  family,  living  oi 
the  estate  and  having  the  use  of  a  plot  of  ground,  hires  himsel 
out  for  $25  or  $30  a  year.  A  young  man  works  on  the  farn 
for  a  gulden  a  day,  which  is  about  41  cents  in  our  money 
while  in  summer  he  works  from  sunrise  to  sundown  for  5( 
cents.  Women  there  dig,  wheel,  carry  burdens  and  do  genera 
farm  work  for  1 2  cents  a  day,  which  in  summer  time  might  ris« 
to  16  cents.  Of  course  living  is  cheap.  One  can  buy  a  pai: 
of  hand-made  shoes  for  two  or  three  guldens,  while  the  bes 
boots  are  sold  for  about  a  $1.50  a  pair.  Good  board  can  b< 
got  for  10  or  12  guldens  a  month,  while  most  families  raise  suf 
ficient  vegetables  for  their  use.  Under  such  conditions  th« 
struggle  to  live  resulted  only  in  bare  subsistence  to  the  wage 
earning  class,  and  the  energetic  soon  availed  themselves  of  th< 
promise  of  better  things  in  a  distant  land. 

To  these  men  nine  hours  a  day  in  the  coal  fields  of  Pennsyl 
vania  at  $1.50  or  $2.00  a  day  is  a  great  inducement.  Th« 
Sclav  standard  of  living  in  these  coal  fields  is  low,  but  if  com 
pared  with  that  in  vogue  in  his  home,  it  is  rich  and  varied 
Bread  made  of  the  best  wheat  flour  the  market  affords,  meat  o 
some  kind  every  day  unless  religious  considerations  forbid  it 
on  fast  days  eggs,  sardines  and  cheese  take  the  place  of  meat ;  j 
plentiful  supply  of  cabbage,  potatoes,  pickels,  apples  and  coffe< 
— these  give  the  Sclav  a  sumptuous  living,  while  they  drinl 
beer  more  freely  than  they  did  water  in  the  hills  of  their  ances 
tral  home.  It  is  not  astonishing  that  many  of  these  people  re 
gard  this  land  as  a  "  goodly  country  '^  where  they  have  realize< 
more  of  the  good  things  of  life  than  was  ever  dreamt  of  in  th< 
fatherland,  and  the  money  and  the  letter  sent  to  the  folks  acroa 
the  sea,  stating  the  wages  and  the  living  enjoyed  by  the  immi 


\yy 


THE   SCLAV    EMPLOYEES.  35 

grants  in  these  coal  fields  have  been  the  chief  instruments  to 
induce  the  enterprising  Sclavs  to  come  here  and  seek  their 
fortune. 

These  economic  considerations  which  have  lured  the  Sclavs 
into  these  coal  fields  have  also  in  recent  years,  effected  a  com-x 
plete  change  in  their  plans  for  the  future.     When  first  they 
came,  their  ambition  was  to  save  enough  money  to  buy  a  farm 
in  their  native  home,  return  to  the  fatherland,  and  live  in  peace  ; 
under  the  shadow  of  their  own  vine  for  the  remainder  of  their    ] 
days.     Many  did  this,  but  it  did  not  take  long  for  the  practical 
Sclav  to  see  that  if  this  was  a  good  land  for  his  material  in-     1 
terests,  it  was  equally  so  for  those  of  his  children.     No  sooner  / 
was  this  conviction  reached  than  he  acted  accordingly.     The 
volume  of  money  sent  to  the  fatherland  perceptibly  diminished, 
and  they  began  to  buy  lots  and  build  homes  with  the  intention 
of  making  this  country  their  permanent  home.     This  change  y 

of  sentiment  has  gone  on  for^the  last  ten  years  and  the  Sclavs 
to-day  own  thousands  of  houses  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields. 
The  statistics  of  marriages  given  in  a  subsequent  chapter  show 
to  what  extent  this  change  goes  on.  The  spiritual  leaders  of 
these  people  also  advocate  this  policy  and  the  energy  displayed 
by  their  parishioners  in  following  it  proves  that  the  Sclav  has 
come  to  stay.  They  buy  real  estate  and  raise  large  families, 
which  will  enjoy-larger  opportunities  and  higher  privileges  than 
could  be  realized  in  countries  less  advanced  in  civilization. 

\ 
Do  THE  Sclavs  Make  Good  Miners?  ^k^ 

In  the  chapter  on  population  we  saw  that  there  are  to-day 
about  100,000  Sclavs  and  their  descendants  in  the  anthracite 
coal  fields.  The  Poles  are  the  most  numerous  and  were  the 
first  settlers  in  these  regions.  As  a  factor  in  the  operation  of  I 
these  collieries  the  Sclav  is  indispensable.  His  political  im-  / 
portance  is  daily  increasing,  and  if  aided  by  means  whereby 
his  social  worth  may  be  enhanced,  he  is  capable  of  taking  his 
place  in  the  ranks  of  more  highly  civilized  immigrants  to  our 
country.  They  will  soon  be  masters  in  the  political  manage- 
ment of  our  towns,  leaders  in  the  commercial  life  of  our  com- 


^ 


36  ANTHRACITE    COAL   COMMTJNITIES. 

munities  and  a  determining  factor  in  the  industry  upon  which 
we  all  depend.  This  part  of  our  population,  upon  whose 
character  depends  to  an  ever-increasing  degree  the  peace  and 
progress  of  our  communities,  is  a  promising  field  for  the  labors  > 
of  patriotic  and  public-spirited  men,  whose  duty  it  is  so  to  re- 
plenish their  minds  that  they  may  the  better  resist  the  vagaries 
of  socialists  who  find  in  the  foreign  elements  in  our  country  the 
readiest  material  for  socialism. 

The  Sclav  is  a  good  machine  in  the  hands  of  competent  di- 
rectors. He  is  obedient  and  amenable  to  discipline,  courageous 
and  willing  to  work,  prodigal  of  his  physical  strength  and 
capable  of  great  physical  endurance.  He  is  a  good  friend  and 
an  implacable  foe.  He  thinks  slowly  and  is  willing  to  follow 
the  lead  of  others,  but  when  the  Sclav  is  once  set  in  motion 
in  a  given  course,  he  is  there  to  stay.  His  confidence  in 
competent  leadership  is  absolute,  and  both  in  work  and  in 
society  he  is  quick  to  copy  others.  Sclavs  are  far  better 
mimics  than  their  English-speaking  neighbors,  and  their 
children  in  school  excel  Anglo-Saxon  children  in  penmanship, 
drawing,  mathematics  and  discipline.  They  are  fatalistic  to 
an  astonishing  degree,  which  accounts  for  their  stoicism  in 
L^  suffering  or  calamity.  Gross  superstitions  are  found  among 
•'  them,  while  their  loyalty  to  the  Church  is  more  fanatical  than 
intelligent.  Religion  to  many  of  them  is  wholly  severed  from 
,/&iorality,  and  while  they  follow  their  priests  in  the  ceremonies 
and  rites  of  the  church  they  resent  their  interference  in  indus- 
trial affairs.  The  Pole  and  Ruthenian  love  freedom  and  are 
more  self-assertive  and  independent  than  the  Hungarian  and 
Lithuanian.  Among  the  German  Poles  are  many  who  read 
and  think ;  they  are  tainted  with  the  materialism  of  the  Social 
Democracy  of  Germany  and  their  activity  and  prominence 
among  their  fellow-citizens  give  plausibility  to  the  assertion 
often  made  that  atheism  and  socialism  prevail  among  the  Sclavs 
of  the  coal  fields.  The  Sclav,  as  well  as  all  other  classes  of 
laborers,  is  not  impervious  to  the  fascinating  dreams  of  socialists 
who  promise  a  plentiful  supply  of  food  without  hard  labor,  and 
their  minds,  empty  of  facts  to  the  contrary,  cannot  resist  the 


x:\  bra" 


THE 


OF 


OF 


*...f1 

^^^^^^^^^^H^Hi^^» 

THE  SCLAV   EMPLOYEES.  37 

specious  arguments  of  theorists,  so  that  it  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  if  they  display  a  propensity  to  listen  to  the  superficial  prattle 
of  those  who  have  sipped  at  the  table  of  Lasalle,  Bebel,  Kneb- 
knecht,  etc.  The  Sclav,  however,  is  devout  and  needs  the 
leadership  of  a  Whateley,  a  Kingsley,  a  Stocker  or  a  Ketteler 
to  guide  him  to  a  better  and  nobler  type  of  manhood.  He  is 
conservative  and  slow  to  deviate  from  the  customs  and  usages 
of  his  ancestors ;  he  is  better  pleased  to  follow  the  old  paths 
than  enter  upon  new  ones ;  and  this  conservatism  of  the 
Sclavs  leads  us  to  think  that  the  dreams  of  socialists  will 
have  little  influence  among  these  peoples,  providing  an  intelli- 
gent and  persistent  effort  were  put  forth  to  show  them  the 
benefits  of  the  capitalistic  system,  the  limits  set  to  the  produc- 
tion of  wealth  by  the  forces  and  laws  of  nature,  the  difficulty 
and  hardship  which  have  ever  accompanied  the  work  of  getting 
food,  and  that  the  laws  of  the  game  carried  on  between  capital 
and  labor  are,  on  the  whole,  just  to  both  parties. 

The  Sclavs  are  persistent.  Think  of  the  opposition  and 
social  ostracism  which  greeted  them  when  first  they  came  to 
these  coal  fields.  They  were  abused  in  the  press  and  on  the 
platform,  maltreated  in  the  works  and  pelted  on  the  streets, 
cuffed  by  jealous  workmen  and  clubbed  by  greedy  constables, 
exorbitantly  fined  by  justices  of  the  peace  and  unjustly  imprisoned 
by  petty  officials,  cheated  of  their  wages  and  denied  the  rights 
of  civilized  men,  driven  to  caves  for  shelter  and  housed  in 
rickety  shanties  not  fit  to  shelter  cattle  —  but  the  pioneer  Sclavs 
stood  it  all  and  by  perseverance  gained  a  firmer  foothold  as  the 
years  passed  by.  This  has  always  been  the  conduct  of  men 
when  their  economic  advantages  are  invaded.  The  Anglo- 
Saxons  of  these  coal  fields  acted  toward  the  Sclavs  iijvading 
what  they  considered  their  means  of  livelihood  precisely  as  did 
their  fathers  when  the  Flemish  weavers,  who  excited  the  bit- 
terest animosity  in  the  minds  of  the  gilds  of  that  day,  appeared 
in  England  in  the  thirteenth  century.  Keligious  precepts  and 
principles  count  for  naught  when  the  means  of  subsistence  of 
the  average  laborer  is  threatened.  But,  however  great  be  the 
opposition  to  the  introduction  of  new  factors  into  an  industry, 


38  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

if  the  industry  needs  them  in  order  to  render  better  service  to 
humanity,  they  will  be  introduced.  The  Sclav  found  standing 
room  in  the  anthracite  industry  because  he  was  needed  there  for 
the  progressive  development  of  the  seams  of  coal,  and  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  employee  soon  felt  that  this  new  hand  which  he  so  vigor- 
ously cursed,  could  be  used  to  his  advantage.  Adam  Smith 
said,  if  we  want  the  cooperation  of  some  of  our  fellow-men,  "  we 
address  ourselves,  not  to  their  humanity,  but  to  their  self-love, 
and  never  talk  to  them  of  our  own  necessities  but  of  their 
advantages."  Mine  employees  say  the  operators  brought  the 
Sclav  into  the  coal  fields  to  break  the  back  of  Anglo-Saxon 
laborers.  That  may  be  true,  but  it  is  equally  true  that  the 
Sclav  would  never  have  attained  the  power  he  has  attained  if 
the  employees,  because  of  personal  advantages,  had  not  welcomed 
him. 

Inconveniences  and  hardships  are  the  heritage  of  pioneers  in 
all  lands,  and  that  was  the  lot  of  the  Sclavs  who  first  came  to 
these  coal  fields.  The  generation  of  Welsh,  Irish,  English,  and 
Scotch,  which  is  now  fast  dying  away,  that  came  to  these  in- 
hospitable regions  in  the  forties  and  fifties  of  the  last  century, 
also  endured  great  hardships.  It  was  not  an  unusual  sight 
fifteen  years  ago  to  see  troops  of  Sclavs  leading  a  communal  life 
in  a  mining  breach,  which  reminded  one  of  the  cave-dwellers 
of  primitive  times  —  only  the  virgin  forest,  the  crystal  stream 
and  the  beasts  and  birds  were  wanting.  Many  a  conscienceless 
Saxon  made  a  fortune  by  sheltering  these  peoples.  Old  barns 
were  rigged  up  with  bunks  where  from  forty  to  fifty  men  lived 
and  the  landlord  charged  a  dollar  a  month  per  tenant.  They 
led  a  happy  life,  however,  for  they  were  a  strong  people  and 
used  to  hard  living  and  hard  work.  When  company  houses 
were  placed  at  their  disposal,  they  were  the  worst  in  the  patch 
and  these  were  necessarily  crowded,  for  the  English-speaking 
would  neither  rent  houses  nor  give  board  to  the  "  foreigners." 
Many  of  these  rugged  Sclavs  suffered  much  from  the  cold  of 
winter,  but  the  good  wages  they  earned  were  inducement  enough 
to  them  to  endure  hardship  and  suffering  in  a  strange  land. 
The  people,  who  had  for  centuries  stood  the  brunt  of  the  con- 


THE  SCLAV   EMPLOYEES.  39 

flicts  on  the  continent  of  Europe  when  the  hordes  of  the  East 
came  as  ravenous  wolves  to  devastate  the  fair  plains  of  the 
Danube  and  the  Rhine,  were  not  to  be  daunted  by  hardships  in 
the  mines  and  inconveniences  in  dwelling  accommodations,  if 
only  the  supply  of  daily  food  was  abundant,  the  flow  of  lager 
plentiful  and  their  friend  "  polinki "  near  to  banish  care. 

It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  instances  of  abuses  perpetrated  V 
on  the  ignorant  Sclav.  Sometimes  a  miner  would  pay  him  $1.57  ) 
a  day  instead  of  $1.75.  There  are  instances  where  foremen 
were  parties  to  the  fraud,  while  the  method  of  paying  laborers 
in  vogue  in  the  Northern  coal  fields  until  lately  facilitated 
fraudulent  practices.  The  Sclavs  to-day  are  more  assertive  of 
their  rights  and  few  are  those  who  do  not  keep  an  accurate  ac-  j 
count  of  all  moneys  due  them.  When  first  they  came  to  the 
coal  fields  they  worked  for  less  wages  than  Anglo-Saxons  J 
to-day  they  insist  upon  the  same  wages,  and  the  English- 
speaking  employees  will  cut  prices  sooner  than  Sclavs.  In  the 
six  months'  strike  under  the  Susquehanna  Coal  Company  in 
Nanticoke  in  the  winter  of  1899,  the  men  won  their  case  be- 
cause of  the  unyielding  stand  of  the  Sclavs.  It  is  this  quality 
that  makes  them  good  union  men.  They  insist  upon  regular 
prices  and  are  eager  for  good  wages.  Wherever  there  is  a  pros- 
pect of  good  returns  for  hard  work,  they  are  anxious  for  it.  In 
this  they  differ  from  the  descendants  of  Anglo-Saxons.  A 
superintendent  of  wide  experience  said  :  "  The  native  born  will 
not  work  hard,  the  Sclav  will  if  you  pay  him  well."  After  a 
short  experience  in  the  mines  they  acquire  confidence  enough  to 
ask  for  a  chamber,  and  places  which  have  been  abandoned  by 
"  white  men  ''  are  readily  taken  by  them.  A  chamber  in  one  of 
the  collieries  in  the  Southern  coal  fields,  where  four  men  were 
killed,  was  shunned  by  the  English-speaking  miners,  but  a 
Sclav  took  it  willingly.  They  are  gradually  becoming  efficient 
employees,  while  many  among  them  are  as  skillful  as  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  miners.  Their  docility  and  willingness  to  work  hard" 
commend  them  often  to  mine  managers  in  preference  to  English- 
speaking  mine  employees.  Six  Sclavs  employed  on  a  job  will  \ 
do  more  work  than  four  Sclavs  and  two  Anglo-Saxons,  for  the    / 


^/ 


40  ANTHRACITE    COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

/latter  will  do  little  more  than  supervise  the  work  of  the  "  for- 
eigners/' while  each  member  of  a  homogeneous  group  works. 
It  frequently  happens  that  the  efficiency  of  the  Sclav  employee 
excites  the  envy  of  the  Anglo-Saxon.  A  district  superintendent 
of  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  almost  precipitated  a  strike  in 

\  one  of  the  shafts  because  he  gave  a  contract  to  two  Poles  in 
preference  to  English-speaking  rivals.  In  the  Northern  coal 
fields  if  the  Sclav  miner  cuts  twelve  cars  of  coal  to  a  keg  of 
powder,  he  is  satisfied  and  says  *'  me  all  right,  boss,''  but  the 
English-speaking  miner  expects  to  cut  eighteen  cars  to  the  keg, 
and  if  he  falls  below  that  he  asks  for  allowance.  The  Sclav  is 
perfectly  willing  to  work  from  eight  to  nine  hours  a  day.  Many 
Anglo-Saxons  think  that  ''  too  long."  These  qualities  of  the 
Sclav  employee,  under  the  changed  condition  of  the  mines, 
give  him  the  advantage  over  men  of  better  education  and 
training. 

There  are  withal  dark  sides  to  his  character.  Sclavs  are 
ignorant,  clannish,  unclean,  suspicious  of  strangers,  revengeful 
and  brutal.  There  are  about  50,000  of  our  people  illiterate, 
most  of  whom  are  found  among  the  Sclavs.  They  are  dirty 
in  their  homes  and  the  vast  majority  of  them  exercise  very 
little  thought  in  their  daily  task.  They  have  not  been  taught 
to  think  for  themselves  and  hence  waste  much  physical  force 
as  well  as  much  coal  which  more  intelligent  mining  saves. 
The  Sclav  seldom  leaves  his  own  colony  save  for  his  work, 
and  whenever  a  stranger  visits  their  quarters  he  is  an  object 
of  suspicion.  In  suits  at  law,  if  the  justice  of  the  peace 
places  the  costs  on  one  of  the  parties  to  the  dispute,  there 
will  be  no  peace  until  the  other  also  is  equally  mulcted. 
In  fights  they  are  brutal  beyond  description.  Under  the 
influence  of  drink  they  soon  return  to  the  unstable  nature 
of  their  barbarous  ancestors.  Scenes  of  cruelty  and  horror  are 
of  frequent  occurrence  when  the  secret  and  suppressed  side  of 
their  nature  is  brought  out.  The  Sclav  is  irritable  and  easily 
provoked  when  in  his  cups  and  few  feasts  close  without  a  fight. 
Whenever  he  asks  a  favor  he  cringes  at  the  feet  of  the  bestower, 
but  if  you  ask  a  favor  of  him  he  expects  you  to  do  the  same. 


THE  SCLAV   EMPLOYEES.  41 

Many  of  them  are  self-assertive  and  can  only  be  kept  within  ' 
moderation  by  stern  discipline.  They  ask  for  favors  constantly 
if  they  are  not  harshly  refused,  while  many  of  them  are  invet- 
erate thieves.  These  undesirable  traits  of  character  must  be 
dealt  with  by  the  stern  hand  of  the  law,  and  local  authorities 
and  courts  of  justice  have  much  to  do  in  the  preservation  of 
the  peace  of  these  communities  by  vigorously  prosecuting 
criminals  and  promptly  punishing  offenders.  The  Sclavs  come 
from  countries  where  the  authority  of  the  law  and  the  majesty 
of  rulers  are  ingrained  in  the  people.  There  is  cause  to  fear 
that  soon  after  they  land  in  America,  these  salutary  restraints 
are  lost  and  they  imagine  that  they  can  by  bribery  and  wire- 
pulling defeat  the  ends  of  justice.*  If  these  men,  in  whom  the 
brute  lies  so  near  the  surface,  lose  respect  for  law  and  consti- 
tuted authority,  one  cannot  but  look  with  grave  apprehension 
to  the  future  of  these  communities  where  industrial  friction  is 
so  liable  to  occur.  ' 

Sclavs  Accumulating  Riches. 
In  the  town  of  Shenandoah  real  estate  is  at  a  premium  for 
the  reason  that  on  all  sides  of  the  borough  lines  lies  territory 
that  is  either  not  adapted  to  or  will  not  be  sold  for  building 
purposes.     Hence  we  find  in  this  borough  greater  congestion 
than  in  any  other  section  of  the  anthracite  coal  fields.     The 
Sclavs  in  this  town  form  about  60  per  cent,  of  the  population    ^ 
and  began  to  settle  there  in  the  early  eighties.     The  high  price 
asked  for  real  estate  has  impeded  the  Sclavs  in  their  aspiration 
for  this  kind  of  property,  and  yet  the  amount  they  have  ac-  \ 
quired  is  surprising.     In  1901,   they  held  320  properties  in  V 
the  above  town  which,  according  to  the  assessors'  valuation,  / 
amounted   to    $300,000.      This   was   but   one-fourth   of  the 
market  value,  so  that  they  owned  property  estimated  at  f  1,- 
200,000  which  was  about  25  per  cent,  of  the  real  estate  held 

*A  young  Sclav  in  Lansford,  when  he  took  out  his  marriage  license, 
asked  the  justice  of  the  peace  if  he  would  kindly  give  him  a  paper  exempting 
him  and  his  friends  from  arrest  if,  during  the  marriage  feast,  they  should  be 
involved  in  a  fight.  He  was  willing  to  pay  a  good  price  for  that  kind  of  a 
license,  but  he  wanted  it  issued  under  the  seal  of  the  court. 


^ 


42  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

by  individuals  in  the  borough.  In  addition  to  this  they  have 
church  edifices,  parsonages,  parochial  school  buildings  and 
equipments  estimated  at  $120,000,  making  a  total  investment 
in  the  town  of  $1,320,000,  in  fifteen  or  twenty  years. 

In  the  town  of  Mt.  Carmel  they  form  about  50  per  cent,  of 
the  population.  Here  in  the  same  year  they  held  430  proper- 
ties which,  according  to  the  assessors'  valuation,  amounted  to 
$150,172,  or  a  market  value  of  $700,688.  In  this  borough 
there  are  better  opportunities  to  acquire  real  estate  than  in 
Shenandoah,  because  an  unlimited  supply  of  land  is  on  the 
market.  Here  also  they  have  spent  nearly  $90,000  in 
churches,  parsonages,  etc.,  so  that  over  three  quarters  of  a 
million  dollars  has  been  invested  in  this  town.  It  is  estimated 
that  Sclavs  here  own  over  20  per  cent,  of  the  homes. 

In  Nanticoke  in  the  year  1902,  433  properties  were  held  by 
Sclavs  which,  according  to  the  value  given  in  the  assessors' 
books  amounted  to  $103,247,  which  represented  a  market  valu- 
ation of  $412,988.  The  tax-collector  believed  that  fully  30 
per  cent,  of  the  homes  in  the  borough  were  owned  by  Sclavs. 
The  value  of  the  homes  range  from  $350  to  $7,000,  while 
the  average  was  $953.  Here  also  are  churches,  parsonages, 
parochial  school  buildings,  a  convent,  etc.,  which  were  esti- 
mated to  be  worth  $110,000.  Hence  in  this  town  the  Sclavs 
have  invested  in  real  estate  over  half  a  million  dollars. 

In  Olyphant,  where  the  Sclavs  began  to  settle  in  the  last 
decade  and  form  now  about  33  per  cent,  of  the  population,  they 
hold  130  properties  which  are  valued  by  the  assessors  at  about 
$40,762  and  represent  an  actual  valuation  of  $163,048.  It  is 
estimated  that  about  14  per  cent,  of  the  homes  in  the  borough 
are  owned  by  Sclavs.  Here  also  they  have  two  church  build- 
ings, two  parsonages  and  a  parochial  building,  which  represent 
a  valuation  of  $30,000.  So  that  in  the  above  borough  they 
hold  property  to  the  value  of  $193,048,  all  of  which  has  been 
accumulated  in  the  last  decade. 

Thus,  in  the  four  towns  mentioned  above,  the  Sclav  portion 
of  our  population  holds  over  two  and  a  half  million  dollars 
worth  of  real  estate  which,  as  near  as  we  are  able  to  estimate, 


THE   SCLAV   EMPLOYEES.  43 

is  an  average  of  about  $100  per  capita  of  Sclav  population  in 
these  towns,  all  of  which  has  been  saved  in  the  last  ten  or  \ 
fifteen  years.     In  addition  to  this,  vast  sums  of  money  have  been 
sent  to  relatives  in  fatherland  ;  thousands  have  returned,  having 
earned  what  they  deemed  a  competency  for  the  remainder  of 
their  lives,  while  large  sums  are  on  deposit  in  savings  banks.    C. 
S.  Weston,  General  Agent  of  the  Real  Estate  Department  of 
the  Delaware  and  Hudson  said,  that  no  class  of  immigrants 
into  the  coal  fields  have  a  better  record  on  the  books  of  the    ! 
company  for  prompt  payment  for  the  land  sold  them  for  build-  / 
ing  purposes  than  the  Sclavs.     Hundreds  of  building  lots  have 
been  sold  them  in  the  Lackawanna  and  Wyoming  valleys  by 
the  company,  and  less  than  two  per  cent,  of  the  purchasers  have 
failed  to  meet  their  payments,  while  among  purchasers  of  other 
nationalities  a  much  larger  percentage  of  failures  occur.     Thous- 
ands of  our  Sclavs  live  in  mining  camps  wholly  owned  and  con- 
trolled by  the  coal  companies,  and  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  if 
opportunity  were  given  them  to  acquire  real  estate  they  would 
do  so. 

This  Sclav  acquisition  of  real  estate  is  not  local.  It  is  gen- 
eral all  through  the  anthracite  coal  fields  wherever  opportunity 
is  given  individuals  to  purchase  property,  and  there  is  reason 
to  believe  that  it  will  continue.  The  old  virtue  of  thrift  is 
practised  by  them,  and  as  financiers  from  among  their  own 
number  organize  building  and  loan  associations  and  institute 
banks,  they  will  each  year  go  on  adding  to  their  possessions. 
Our  bankers  have  learned  that  the  Sclavs  save  money,  and 
almost  every  bank  doing  business  in  the  communities  where  / 
Sclavs  form  a  considerable  part  of  the  population  engages  a  - 
clerk  from  among  that  people.  This  thrift  of  the  Sclav  and 
his  anxiety  to  acquire  a  home  should  be  encouraged,  for  it  is  a 
guarantee  of  good  conduct,  industrial  efficiency  and  social  order. 
Private  property  is  one  of  the  best  adjuncts  to  the  preservation 
of  law  and  order  and  a  pledge  to  the  State  of  good  citizenship. 
Coal  companies  who  unyieldingly  grasp  every  inch  of  property 
under  their  control  and  refuse  to  sell  an  inch  of  land  to  their 
employees,  commit  a  grave  mistake.     It  would  be  better  policy 


44  ANTHRACITE   COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

to  give  these  men  an  opportunity  to  take  root  in  the  soil ;  the 
would  unquestionably  get  better  employees  and  the  money  in 
vested  in  real  estate  near  the  collieries  would  be  a  guarante 
of  steady  habits  and  permanency  of  residence.  In  Lansforc 
the  coal  company  charges  high  prices  for  building  lots,  and  th 
Sclavs,  who  form  about  70  per  cent,  of  the  employees,  ow: 
only  30  properties  in  the  borough. 

In  this  acquisition  of  real  estate  by  the  Sclav  there  is  on 
detracting  feature.  Not  only  do  they  build  new  homes,  but  the; 
also  buy  the  properties  of  Anglo-Saxons.  Many  of  these  lattei 
hard  pressed  by  Sclavs  in  business  and  in  the  mines,  feel  tha 
they  cannot  stand  the  competition  and  so  sell  and  get  out 
Whole  wards  in  the  towns  above  mentioned  are  fast  passini 
into  the  hands  of  the  Sclavs,  where  formerly  English-speakinj 
people  lived.  This  results  in  driving  out  from  our  territor; 
the  better  class  of  mine  employees,  pushed  out  by  the  aggressiv 
Sclav. 

Do  THE  Sclavs  Make  Good  Citizens? 

The  acquisition  of  property  brings  with  it  also  the  desire  fo 
citizenship,  for  a  property  owner  desires  a  voice  in  the  regula 
tion  of  the  town  in  which  he  has  interest  and  where  he  pay 
his  taxes,  hence,  we  find  that,  coincident  with  the  purchase  o 
real  estate  by  Sclavs,  a  large  number  of  them  become  citizen 
by  naturalization. 

In  the  year  1897  the  courts  of  Lackawanna,  Luzerne  an( 
Schuylkill  drafted  a  new  set  of  rules  to  regulate  the  process  o 
naturalizing  aliens,  making  it  more  difficult  and  expensive  fo 
those  who  desire  to  enjoy  fully  the  privileges  of  Americans 
Previous  to  the  change  the  foreign  born  could  secure  hi 
naturalization  papers  after  a  residence  of  five  years  and  th< 
payment  of  $2  in  fees.  The  residence  clause  is  the  same  a 
before  but  the  applicant  now  must  engage  the  services  of  ai 
attorney,  who  moves  the  court  and  who  publishes  the  appli 
cation  three  times  in  the  Legal  News.  The  judge  befor< 
whom  the  applicant  appears  conducts  an  examination  of  th« 
alien  on  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  the  Constitutioi 
of  Pennsylvania  and  the  duties  of  citizens.     The  nature  of  th. 


THE   SCLAV    EMPLOYEES.  46 

examination  depends  on  the  judge,  although,  it  is  claimed,  that 
political  elections  have  their  influence  upon  the  result.  Under 
this  law  the  applicant  for  the  rights  of  citizenship  pays  $3  for 
advertisement  and  $5  for  the  services  of  an  attorney,  and  if  he 
resides  in  localities  far  removed  from  the  county  seat  he  loses 
a  day's  work  and  spends  a  few  dollars  for  carfare  and  meals. 
It  is  said  that  it  costs  many  Sclavs,  residing  in  sections  of 
Schuylkill  and  Luzerne  counties,  from  $12  to  $15  to  secure  the 
rights  of  the  franchise.  It  is  very  questionable  whether  this 
change  is  for  good  in  the  process  of  naturalization  ;  one  thing  is 
certain,  it  has  been  the  occasion  of  devising  schemes  whereby 
the  increased  cost  may  be  evaded. 

The  Sclav  in  this  matter,  as  in  all  others  which  affect  his 
material  interests,  moves  in  a  practical  manner  that  commends 
his  business  tact  and  condemns  his  political  ethics.  The  appli- 
cants organize  into  political  clubs,  and  prepare  themselves  for 
the  examination.  When  they  are  ready  they  wait  the  time  of 
election  until  some  aspirant  for  political  honors  comes  around. 
A  bargain  is  then  made  ;  if  he  secures  them  their  naturalization 
papers  the  club  will  vote  for  him.  In  this  way  a  large  number 
are  pushed  through,  previous  to  the  elections,  at  little  expense 
to  themselves.  The  courts'  regulations  are  salutary  in  their 
effect  as  far  as  they  compel  these  aliens  to  qualify  themselves 
in  the  form  and  principles  of  our  government ;  it  is  injurious 
in  forcing  them  into  organizations  which  watch  the  political 
horizon  and  to  begin  their  political  life  by  selling  their  votes. 
The  first  lesson  taught  these  men  in  the  exercise  of  the  franchise 
is  that  it  is  property  having  market  value,  which  they  sell  to 
the  highest  bidder.  To  construct  a  pecuniary  barrier  across 
the  alien's  path  to  naturalization  simply  appeals  to  his  cunning, 
while  it  gives  members  of  the  legal  fraternity  a  lever  whereby 
they  may  secure  votes  for  themselves  or  their  friends. 

Politics  has  always  played  an  important  part  in  the  work  of 
naturalizing  aliens.  Back  in  the  seventies  of  the  last  century, 
it  is  alleged  that  the  seal  of  one  of  our  courts  was  taken  out 
and  aliens,  without  the  aid  of  judge  or  lawyer,  were  made 
citizens  by  the  score.     This  highway  method  is  not  practised 


) 


46 


ANTHRACITE   COAL    COMMUNITIES. 


to-day  and  yet  methods  are  still  in  vogue  not  in  harmony  wit 
the  patriotic  aim  of  elevating  the  standard  of  efficiency  an 
intelligence  of  aliens.  It  is  a  fatal  mistake  to  teach  Sclavs  o: 
the  threshold  of  citizenship  the  crime  of  venality  and  that  thei 
vote  has  a  commercial  value. 

Some  of  the  Sclav  priests  are  very  active  in  training  thei 
people  in  the  necessary  qualifications  for  citizenship.  Those  o 
the  Little  Greeks  have  prepared  a  pamphlet  containing  th 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  in  both  English  and  Littl 
Russian  in  parallel  columns  with  notes  explanatory  of  the  texl 
The  efforts  of  the  spiritual  leaders  are  not  in  vain,  for  man^ 
Sclavs  pass  a  very  creditable  examination  which,  in  som^ 
instances,  has  received  the  commendation  of  the  judge.  Ai 
examination  of  the  naturalization  dockets  shows  that  the  per 
centage  of  failures  among  Anglo-Saxons  is  not  much  lower  thai 
that  of  the  Sclav.  This  may  be  due,  however,  to  the  leniency 
of  the  judge,  one  of  whom  said  he  was  heartily  ashamed  o 
his  work  after  every  sitting  in  a  naturalization  court.  Whei 
from  200  to  300  aliens  are  naturalized  in  one  session,  the  ex- 
amination of  each  applicant  cannot  be  very  rigid. 

The  following  table  gives  the  number  and  percentage  o: 
Sclavs  and  Anglo-Saxons  naturalized  for  three  years  in  tht 
Court  of  Schuylkill  county  : 


Year. 

Sclavs. 

Anglo-Saxons. 

Number. 

Percentage. 

Number. 

Percentage. 

1899 
1900 
1901 

257 
459 
324 

77.88 
91.99 
93.10 

73 

40 
24 

22.12 
8.00 
6.90 

Thus  out  of  a  total  of  1,177  naturalization  papers  issued  in 
the  above  county  in  the  years  specified,  88.36  per  cent,  were 
issued  to  Sclavs. 

The  table  on  page  45  gives  the  nationality  of  the  persons 
made  citizens. 

In  Luzerne  county,  in  the  year  1900,  of  253  naturalization 
papers  issued  by  the  County  Court,  173  or  68.37  per  cent, 
were  taken  out  by  the  Sclavs.     In  Lackawanna  county,  in  the 


THE  SCLAV   EMPLOYEES. 


47 


NaUonality. 

1899. 

1900. 

1901. 

Austrian  

23 

7 

119 

9 

4 

96 
0 
1 

16 

36 
3 
1 
2 

12 
2 
0 

71 

5 

2 

361- 

5 

12 
3 
0 
6 

12 
9 
2 
1 

10 
0 
0 

119 

Italian 

Pole 

42 
10^ 

11 

Hungarian 

2 

Lithuanian 

50 

Syrian 

0 
0 

Irish 

7 

Oerman 

5 

Welsh 

1 

Scotch 

1 

Swiss           .  .           

1 

English 

7 

Swede  

1 

French 

1 

same  year,  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  issued  371  naturaliza- 
tion papers  and  the  County  Court  328.  Of  the  total  699,  401 
or  57.37  per  cent,  were  issued  to  Sclavs.  The  percentage  of 
Sclavs  naturalized  in  these  counties  is  less  than  in  Schuylkill, 
but  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  many  German  Poles  in  the 
last-mentioned  counties  are  classified  as  Germans.  If  we  add 
those  classified  as  Germans  in  Lackawanna  and  Luzerne  counties 
to  the  naturalized  Sclav,  then,  of  a  total  of  952  papers  issued,  753 
or  80  per  cent,  would  be  to  Sclavs,  which  is  near  the  per- 
centage in  Schuylkill  county.  It  is  frequently  the  case  that 
German  Poles  pass  as  Germans  in  the  Northern  coal  fields,  being 
anxious  possibly  to  be  esteemed  as  standing  on  a  higher  social 
elevation  than  is  generally  awarded  the  Sclavs. 

This  aspiration  of  the  Sclav  for  the  full  rights  of  citizenship 
will  continue,  for  it  is  purposive.  There  are  many  brilliant 
young  men  rising  among  them  who  cherish  political  ambition, 
and  they  successfully  lead  their  fellow  countrymen  to  acquire 
the  rights  of  citizenship  in  order  to  enhance  their  prospects  and  ; 
powers  in  both  municipal  and  county  politics.  They  are  grad- 
ually appropriating  more  and  more  of  the  spoils  of  office  in 
municipalities  and  their  power  in  county  elections  is  annually 
increasing. 

These  people  have  both  physical  and  intellectual  qualities 
which  will  enrich  the  blood  and  brain  of  the  nation,  but  the 
political  ethics  in  vogue  in  our  State  are  far  from  possessing  a 


48  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

character  likely  to  strengthen  and  elevate  the  moral  nature  o 
the  Sclav.  His  leaders  teach  him  cunning  and  give  hin 
-  samples  of  fraud  and  sharp  practice  which  he  is  quick  to  copy 
Venality  is  the  common  sin  of  our  electors  and  the  Sclav  ha 
been  corrupted  in  the  very  inception  of  his  political  life  in  hi; 
adopted  country. 

Clinging  to  Old  Customs. 

Representatives  of  European  nations  on  American  soil  per 
petuate  national  customs  and  traditions  with  a  zeal  measurec 
only  by  their  national  pride.  National  customs  and  habits  dif 
fer  widely  and  the  ideas  of  propriety  and  decency  which  pre 
vail  among  the  various  nations  differ  just  as  widely.  Amon^ 
the  confluence  of  nations  in  these  coal  fields  the  mores  of  the  peopL 
inevitably  clash  and  the  result  is  suspicion,  misunderstanding 
and  scandal.  It  requires  a  degree  of  intelligence  and  culture 
far  beyond  that  found  in  mining  communities,  to  understanc 
that  national  customs  and  habits  are  the  unconscious  inheri- 
tance of  each  generation  which,  however  repugnant  and  scanda- 
lous to  peoples  of  another  race,  may  be  practised  with  impunit} 
by  the  people  themselves.  Tacitus  thought  female  virtue  lo\^ 
among  Germanic  women  whose  paps  were  visible,  but  in  get- 
ting better  acquainted  with  them  he  was  astonished  to  find  their 
virtuous.  The  Lapps  are  dirty,  but  their  respect  for  women  if 
far  in  advance  of  that  of  peoples  more  advanced  in  civilization 
The  Esquimaux  love  their  wives  but  they  can  look  upon  there 
carrying  heavy  burdens  without  stirring  a  finger.  Each  of  m 
is  liable  to  judge  peoples  of  other  nations  by  the  mores  oJ 
the  nation  to  which  we  belong  and  hastily  pass  judgmeni 
on  that  which  comes  short  of  our  standard.  This  practice 
though  natural,  leads  to  gross  injustice  and  misunderstand- 
ing. 

Social  customs  among  Sclavs  differ  greatly  from  those  Oj 
English-speaking  peoples.  The  female  among  the  Poles  will 
enter  a  saloon  with  her  male  companion  and  take  a  social  glasf 
with  him.  Many  Slovak  women  go  about  the  house  bare-footed 
and  scantily  clad  in  the  presence  of  men  with  a  naivete  that  k 


THE  BCLAV   EMPLOYEES.  49 

their  best  safeguard  of  social  purity.  Many  an  Italian  woman 
goes  to  church  in  company  with  her  husband  and  a  young  man  \ 
who  carries  her  umbrella  and  shawl.  To  Anglo-Saxon  neigh- 
bors there  is  only  one  interpretation  possible,  but  ethnologists  i 
explain  it  as  a  custom  prevalent  in  southern  Italy.  Sclav 
women,  about  to  become  mothers,  never  dream  of  keeping  to 
their  homes,  and  soon  after  parturition  they  are  around  do- 
ing their  work  in  the  home.  It  is  nothing  unusual  to  see  these 
women  up  and  at  their  usual  task  in  and  around  the  house, 
bare-footed,  two  or  three  days  after  the  child  is  born.  Sclav 
girls  marry  when  they  are  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  of  age  and 
sterility  is  rarely  found  among  the  wives.  There  are  no  spin- 
sters among  the  people.  A  priest  speaking  upon  this  subject 
said  :  "  All  our  people  marry,  and  our  women,  thank  God,  have 
not  learnt  American  ways  as  yet."  Boys  are  regarded  with 
greater  favor  than  girls  in  these  homes.  At  the  ceremony  of 
baptism  a  few  of  the  friends  are  invited  and  after  that  they  are 
known  as  the  "  Kum."  The  advent  of  a  male  child  is  gener-  . 
ally  celebrated  by  a  feast  to  which  the  "  Kum  "  is  invited,  but 
although  these  are  considered  bound  to  the  family  by  special 
ties  of  friendship,  none  of  them  is  allowed  to  touch  the  feast 
that  is  spread  until  the  host  invites  him.  The  evening  is 
spent  in  drinking   and  dancing  and  sometimes  winds  up  in  a 

fight. 

Marriage  customs  are  unique.  The  bridegroom  purchases 
the  wedding  garment  of  the  bride  as  well  as  the  materials  for 
the  feast,  and  provides  from  $25  to  $30  worth  of  beer  and 
spirits  for  the  occasion.  After  the  marriage  ceremony,  which 
generally  takes  place  in  the  church,  the  friends  of  the  contract- 
ing parties  assemble  at  the  house  where  the  feast  is  spread  and 
where  the  "polstertanz  "  takes  place.  Lippert  says  that  among 
the  Sclavs  the  "  Kum ''  or  "  Gevatter  "  will  not  allow  anyone 
to  dance  with  the  bride  unless  he  first  lays  a  piece  of  money  in 
her  lap.  This  is  the  custom  here  still.  Anyone  who  desires  to 
dance  with  the  bride  must  lay  25  cents  or  50  cents  in  her 
apron  before  he  can  get  the  privilege.  Pretty  brides  realize  a 
handsome  sum  in  this  manner.  A  young  Polish  girl  in  Shen- 
5 


50  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

andoah  got  $160  *  to  start  life  with  from  those  who  danced 
with  her.  Besides  this  the  bridal  pair  has  another  source  ol 
revenue  by  engaging  the  services  of  a  wit  whose  duty  it  is  to 
collect  money  from  the  company  present  which  is  to  aid  the 
young  people  in  starting  life.  The  collector's  duty  is  to  address 
the  guests,  praise  the  virtues  of  the  bride,  describe  the  requisites 
of  the  home  and  the  prospects  before  the  wedded  couple,  and  then 
appeal  for  contributions.  The  company  responds  according  to  its 
ability  and  inclination,  the  contributions  varying  from  $1  to  $5. 
The  amount  realized  largely  depends  upon  the  wit  of  the  collector. 
There  lived  in  Shamokin  a  genius  in  this  regard  whose  services 
were  in  great  demand  in  Northumberland,  Schuylkill  and 
Luzerne  counties.  The  fellow,  however,  was  notoriously  im- 
moral and  the  tolerant  Sclavs  resolved  to  cast  him  overboard. 
Others  were  tried  as  collectors  but  none  approached  the  ostracized 
one  and  the  practical  Sclavs,  when  they  saw  the  collections 
falling  off,  recalled  the  scurrilous  wit  whose  jests  and  drollery 
never  failed  to  empty  the  pockets  of  the  bridal  guests.  It  was 
only  by  shipping  the  fellow  to  his  native  home  that  they  were 
able  to  dethrone  him.  The  married  women  in  the  feast  take 
the  young  bride  and  put  up  her  hair  which  before  marriage  was 
left  hanging.  She  now  passes  into  the  ranks  of  matrons  and  is 
expected  to  cover  her  head  with  a  scarf.  But  here  the  influence 
of  a  new  environment  is  seen  ;  the  young  Sclav  wives  discard 
the  scarf  and  don  a  hat  covered  with  bright  colored  flowers  and 
ribbons. 

The  Sclav  is  proverbial  for  his  indifference  to  sickness  and 
death.  It  is  seen  in  the  case  of  mothers  and  their  children. 
It  is  also  evidenced  in  the  relation  of  husband  and  wife,  and 
between  so-called  friends.  When  the  husband  of  a  Slovak 
woman  living  in  Scranton  was  brought  home,  having  been 
killed  in  the  mines,  the  woman  denied  he  was  her  husband  and 
bolted  the  door  in  the  face  of  the  bearers.     They  laid  the  body 

*  A  Polish  wedding  generally  lasts  from  three  to  five  days.  Contributions 
also  for  the  privilege  of  dancing  with  the  bride  may  exceed  50  cents,  which 
make  it  possible  for  a  popular  young  lady  to  realize  a  considerable  sum. 
The  average  sum,  however,  collected  by  this  custom  would  not  exceed  $50. 


THE  SCLAV   EMPLOYEES.  51 

on  the  sidewalk  and  summoned  a  policeman  who  was  obliged 
to  force  the  door  before  the  body  could  be  brought  into  the 
home.  In  Mt.  Carmel,  a  Sclav  boarder  was  killed  in  the 
mines  and  brought  home.  That  night  a  feast  was  to  take  place 
in  the  house  which  the  neighbors  thought  would  be  postponed 
because  of  the  death  of  one  of  the  inmates.  To  their  astonish- 
ment they  heard  the  sound  of  revelry  and  notified  the  constable. 
The  officer  visited  the  house,  and  as  he  was  passing  through  a 
dark  alley  leading  to  the  dwelling  he  stumbled  over  something. 
A  light  was  brought  and  there  laid  the  body  of  the  boarder. 
They  had  thrown  out  the  dead  and  proceeded  to  enjoy  the  feast 
as  prearranged.  When  some  of  the  neighbors  remonstrated 
with  them,  the  reply  was  "dead  Hungarian  no  good."  In  -^ 
the  city  of  Scranton  a  sick  man,  boarding  with  a  family  of 
Sclavs,  was  taken  from  the  house  in  the  dead  of  the  night, 
placed  in  the  rear  of  the  lot  without  shelter  or  any  provision 
for  his  needs.  Some  of  the  neighbors  heard  the  poor  fellow 
groaning  during  the  night  and  by  investigation  found  him  the 
following  morning  more  dead  than  alive. 

Such  callousness  is  simply  barbarous  and  connotes  a  low 
stage  of  civilization.  It  cannot  be  said  that  these  people  fear 
death  as  much  as  they  dread  the  expense  and  inconvenience 
incident  to  sickness  and  death.  Upon  them,  however,  a  refin- 
ing and  elevating  influence  is  being  exerted.  A  large  number 
of  Sclavs  to-day  are  members  of  religious  fraternal  organi- 
zations and  carry  insurance  of  from  $300  to  $500.  This  sum 
paid  on  the  body  of  the  deceased  has  a  quickening  effect  upon  the 
Sclav's  sentiments  of  respect  for  the  dead,  and  on  the  day  of 
burial  the  organization  attends  the  funeral  and  carriages  are 
hired  after  the  expensive  fashion  of  Americans.  Of  course  all 
Sclavs  are  not  equally  indifferent  to  the  claims  of  humanity 
when  sickness  and  death  invade  the  home.  There  are  some 
who  equal  any  among  the  working  class  in  refinement  of  senti- 
ment and  sympathy.  They  mourn  over  the  dead,  summon 
their  friends  to  chant  plaintive  dirges  in  the  home,  secrete  in 
the  casket  objects  which  the  deceased  dearly  loved,  and  do  not 
forget  the  few  pence  necessary  to  pay  Charion  when  the  soul 


52  ANTHRACITE    COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

passes  over  the  dark  river.  In  the  Greek  Church  the  relatives 
of  the  deceased  are  careful  to  provide  a  candle  for  each  one 
who  attends  the  funeral,  for  to  neglect  this  is  considered  a 
wilful  breach  of  etiquette  and  a  gross  insult  to  the  neglected 
party.  Lester  F.  Ward  has  excused  the  Government  of  Russia 
because  of  much  of  its  crudeness  by  stating  that  "  Russia  is 
simply  a  few  centuries  behind  the  rest  of  the  civilized  world." 
The  same  may  be  said  of  the  Sclavs  in  these  coal  fields,  and  if 
members  of  nations  more  advanced  in  culture  will  remember 
that  their  ancestors  were  once  in  the  same  stage  of  civilization 
and  that  the  evolution  of  compassion  and  sympathy  with  human 
suffering  is  the  growth  of  centuries,  they  will  look  upon  the 
Sclav  with  greater  tolerance  and,  with  a  larger  hope,  work  for 
his  elevation. 

All  the  Sclavs  drink.  The  evil  of  intemperance  among  the 
Poles  in  their  native  land  has  attracted  the  attention  of  econo- 
mists and  moralists.  The  claims  of  temperance  appeal  not  to 
the  Sclav.  He  looks  upon  lager  exactly  as  the  English  do 
upon  tea  or  the  French  upon  wine.  Many  drink  to  excess,  but 
taking  them  as  a  whole  the  percentage  of  drunkards  among 
them  is  smaller  than  among  the  Celtic  races  of  these  regions, 
while  foremen  say  that  they  are  not  absent  from  their  work  be- 
cause of  drink  half  so  much  as  the  English-speaking  mine  em- 
ployees. Even  in  his  drinking  habit  the  Sclav  does  not  forget 
his  thrift.  They  frequently  club  together  and  buy  lager  by  the 
barrel.  The  night  is  spent  in  revelry,  and  from  the  Sclav 
quarters  comes  the  boisterous  roar  of  ribald  songs  which  grad- 
ually dies  away  as  the  debauchees  fall  into  a  drunken  stupor. 
Observers  say  that  it  is  only  when  lager  and  whiskey  are  mixed 
that  the  savage  brute  is  aroused  in  the  breast  of  the  Sclav,  and 
on  these  occasions  brawls  occur  which  end  in  bloodshed  and 
death. 

The  student  of  society  will  consider  the  social  environment 
of  these  men  before  he  will  censure  them  because  of  these 
irregularities  which  so  frequently  darken  the  Sclav's  history  in 
(  America.  Their  colonies  are  largely  composed  of  males  far  re- 
moved from  the  wholesome  influence  of  home  and  deprived  of 


THE  SCLAV   EMPLOYEES.  53 

the  refining  influences  of  womanhood  and  family  ties.  They 
work  hard  and  live  on  a  simple  diet.  Their  lives  are  spent  in 
the  dull  routine  of  daily  toil,  and  upon  them  is  placed  the 
drudgery  of  the  mining  industry.  Isolated  mining  camps 
where  Sclavs  live  as  well  as  their  settlements  in  mining  towns, 
are  not  penetrated  with  the  varied  and  brilliant  round  of  enjoy- 
ments which  come  to  the  Anglo-Saxons.  Is  it  then  a  wonder 
that  these  strong  men  break  the  dull  monotony  which  oppresses 
them  by  throwing  themselves  heartily  into  drinking  sprees 
which  sometimes  break  up  in  riot,  bloodshed  and  murder? 
Men,  far  from  home,  and  removed  from  the  restraining  influ- 
ence of  parents  and  friends,  and  possessing  the  means  to  dissi- 
pate, readily  pass  beyond  the  boundaries  of  moderation  and  in- 
dulge in  excesses  which  were  undreamed  of  in  the  homes  of 
their  boyhood.  Many  of  the  boys  who  left  the  shop,  the  mines, 
the  store  and  the  office  for  the  camp  during  the  Civil  War, 
to-day  suffer  the  effects  of  these  few  years  of  degeneracy  and 
dissipation,  and  the  social  environment  of  these  Sclavs  is  in 
many  respects  similar  to  that  of  the  boys  in  blue  in  the  early 
sixties.  Human  nature  in  the  Sclav  is  much  the  same  as  in 
the  Anglo-Saxon.  President  Roosevelt  has  said  of  the  West- 
erner ;  "  The  backwood  people  had  to  front  peril  and  hardship 
without  stint,  and  they  loved  for  the  moment  to  leap  out  of  the 
bounds  of  their  narrow  lives  and  taste  the  coarse  pleasures  that 
are  always  dear  to  a  strong,  simple  and  primitive  people." 
That  is  what  the  Sclavs  of  our  towns  and  villages  do,  and  if 
we  consider  their  lot  we  will  better  understand  the  rough,  tur- 
bulent and  coarse  outbreaks  which  often  shock  us  who  are  more 
favorably  situated. 

The  Sclavs  attend  church,  but  they  do  not  observe  the  Sab- 
bath. They  buy,  drink,  dance,  sing  ribald  songs,  play  cards, 
etc.,  on  Sunday  without  scruple.  A  good  old  Baptist  deacon 
who  visited  the  First  ward  of  Mahanoy  City,  where  the  Sclavs 
reside,  on  Sunday  evening,  said :  "  It  was  terrible ;  saloons 
full  blast ;  singing  and  dancing  and  drinking  everywhere ; 
it  was  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  revived ;  the  judgment  of  God, 
sir,  will  fall  upon  us."    In  this  ward  are  four  flourishing  Sclav 


54  ANTHRACITE   COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

churches  and  the  devout  among  the  Sclavs  don't  agree  with  the 
Baptist  deacon.  Indeed,  if  we  mistake  not  the  trend  of  the 
times  in  these  mining  towns,  the  Sclav's  conception  of  the  Sab- 
bath is  gaining  ground.  The  saloons  of  our  towns  do  double 
the  business  on  Sunday  which  they  do  any  other  day,  and  it  is 
not  the  Sclav  only  that  patronizes  them.  The  saloons  are  full ; 
the  churches  are  not  half  full  —  that  is  Protestant  churches, 
for  the  Sclavs  attend  mass  and  are  often  seen  kneeling  on  the 
sidewalk  when  the  services  go  on. 

The  Sclav  religiously  observes  the  days  on  which  the  saints 
are  commemorated  and  invariably  takes  a  holiday.  On  sacred 
seasons  of  the  year,  such  as  Easter  and  Christmas,  they  are  at 
great  trouble  to  commemorate  the  historical  events  which  form 
the  basis  of  the  Christian  religion.  On  Easter,  tombs  are  con- 
structed in  churches  and  a  semi-military  religious  organization 
associated  with  the  Church  assigns  quaternions  of  its  members 
to  guard  them.  Relays  succeed  each  other  for  a  period  equal 
to  that  during  which  Christ  is  said  to  have  remained  in  the 
grave.  On  Easter  also  members  carry  baskets  laden  with  pro- 
visions to  the  Church  that  the  priest  may  bless  them  and  when 
they  are  brought  home  again  the  families  sit  down  to  the  con- 
secrated feast.  At  Christmas  time,  members  of  the  Church  go 
from  door  to  door  carrying  emblems  of  the  nativity  and  recite 
the  story  of  the  miraculous  birth.  Accompanying  them  are 
grotesque  figures,  representing  the  enemies  of  the  Church, 
which  add  mirth  to  the  visitations.  These  parties  take  up  col- 
lections which  are  turned  over  to  the  priest.  On  Easter  and 
Christmas  a  solemn  procession  is  formed,  when  sacred  relics 
are  carried,  and  the  members,  chanting,  march  around  the 
church  or  along  the  aisles  within  the  sacred  edifice.  On  As- 
cension Day  branches  of  trees  are  cut  down  and  hung  over  the 
doors  of  the  houses  and  around  the  pictures  of  sacred  person- 
ages in  the  homes.  Irish  Catholics  as  well  as  Protestants  laugh 
at  these  usages  as  puerile,  but  the  sneer  would  possibly  be 
suppressed  if  they  remembered  that  our  fathers  once  practiced 
these  ceremonies,  and  that  the  hand  of  time  alone  has  stripped 
us  of  them  as  we  rise  in  the  scale  of  civilization.     It  will  do 


THE  SCLAV   EMPLOYEES.  56 

the  same  to  the  Sclav  and  in  a  shorter  period  of  time  than  it 
took  us  to  get  rid  of  them ;  but  the  serious  question  is,  what  is 
there  to  take  the  place  of  these  ceremonies,  which  exert  a 
wholesome  influence  on  the  Sclav,  when  they  perish  by  the 
touch  of  a  higher  civilization  ?  Does  not  the  welfare  of  the 
rising  generation  of  Sclavs  demand  a  presentation  of  religion 
compatible  with  the  higher  civilization  which  they  enjoy,  which 
will  take  the  place  of  the  ceremonies  which  are  incompatible 
with  American  ways  ? 

As  the  Sclavs  gain  in  numbers  and  confidence  they  give 
greater  publicity  to  their  native  customs  and  peculiarities. 
Troops  of  men  will,  on  idle  days,  amuse  themselves  by  play- 
ing a  childish  game  which  affords  them  much  amusement. 
They  carry  charms  and  sacred  relics  with  greater  publicity  than 
they  did  in  former  years.  They  do  not  enjoy  their  frolics  and 
weddings  with  the  same  privacy  as  in  the  early  years  of  their 
life  in  the  coal  fields,  and  it  is  not  an  anomaly  now  to  find  an 
English-speaking  mine  employee  seeking  the  hand  of  a  fair 
Sclav  of  native  birth.  Last  Fourth  of  July,  a  company  of 
Tyrolese  paraded  the  streets  of  Mahanoy  City  with  a  hand-cart 
drawn  by  men,  in  which  was  placed  a  barrel  of  lager.  Over  it 
stood  a  comrade,  goblet  in  hand  and  crowned  with  a  garland 
of  laurels,  singing  some  jargon,  while  sitting  on  the  rear  end 
of  the  vehicle  was  another  fellow  with  an  accordion.  Along 
the  streets  they  marched  to  the  strains  of  music  and  at  inter- 
vals they  stopped  to  drink  the  good  beverage  they  celebrated 
in  song.  It  was  an  imitation  of  the  honor  paid  Bacchus  which 
was  one  of  the  most  joyous  festivities  of  ancient  Rome. 

These  quaint  customs,  imported  from  across  the  ocean,  are 
destined  to  perish  with  the  generation  which  fondly  cherishes 
them  in  a  strange  land.  Many  of  them  are  signs  of  a  lower 
type  of  civilization  than  that  which  prevails  among  us.  And 
to  quote  Mr.  Ward  again  as  he  speaks  of  Russia  :  "  The  light 
will  ultimately  penetrate  that  great  empire,  and  in  my  humble 
judgment  there  is  no  people  on  the  globe  more  capable  of  mak- 
ing better  use  of  it."  We  believe  the  same  is  true  of  these 
Sclavs.     They  are  a  people  well  worth  all  it  costs  of  time  and 


56  ANTHRACITE   COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

money  to  give  them  the  light  of  a  higher  civilization.  Th( 
light  is  penetrating  the  heterogeneous  mass  and  there  are  signj 
which  promise  better  things  of  this  people.  Under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  public  school  and  the  Miners^  Union,  the  national 
holidays  and  public  parades,  public  discussion  and  police  sur- 
veillance, a  free  press  and  free  discussion,  the  Sclav  is  both 
consciously  and  unconsciously  rising  to  the  realization  of  th^ 
better  and  the  richer  fruits  of  civilization.  Professor  Giddings 
said  :  "  Association,  comradeship  and  cooperation  have  convertec 
the  wild  gorilla  into  the  good  gorilla  and  have  brought  it  tc 
pass  that,  in  the  quaint  words  of  Bacon,  there  is  in  man's 
nature  a  secret  inclination  and  motion  toward  love  of  others. 
...  It  is  the  rubbing  together  of  crude  natures  that  has  made 
fine  natures."  The  Sclav  nature  is  good  material  to  work  upoE 
and  full  of  promise.  As  he  comes  in  contact  with  Anglo- 
Saxons  and  learns  their  ways,  his  wants  are  increased  and  his 
tastes  refined.  As  his  life  expands  his  reflective  powers  are 
made  active  and  he  comes  "  to  sift  things,  to  connect  events 
and  pass  from  one  thing  to  the  other."  The  forces  which  have 
efi*ected  the  civilization  of  man  are  operative  on  the  Sclav  in 
these  coal  fields,  and  they  quicken  his  thought,  refine  his  feel- 
ing and  give  intelligent  direction  to  his  will.  No  one  who  has 
studied  him  in  these  towns  and  villages  can  deny  the  fact  that 
he  increases  in  material  prosperity  at  a  rapid  pace.  His  intel- 
lectual activity  is  also  quickened,  the  greatest  apprehension 
comes  from  the  degenerating  influences  arising  from  his  social 
and  political  environment.  These  influences  can  only  be  met 
by  the  cooperation  of  patriotic  and  public-spirited  men  moved 
to  action  by  the  thought  presented  by  Wayne  MacVeagh  in  a 
recent  address :  "  It  certainly  would  tend  to  make  private 
property  far  more  secure  in  America  if  the  less  fortunate 
majority  of  our  population  saw  us  of  the  more  fortunate 
minority  giving  courage  and  time  and  thought  to  efforts  to 
solve  these  problems  and  others  like  them,  and  thereby  to  lessen 
some  of  the  evils  which  in  many  cases  bear  so  heavily  and  un- 
justly upon  the  poor." 


CHAPTER  III. 
THE  THREE  CRISES. 

1.  The  Mabriages  of  Mine  Employees.    2.  The  Number  of  Children 
Born  to  Them.    3.  The  Angel  of  Death  in  the  Homes. 


The  Marriages  of  Mine  Employees. 

Among  the  foreign  born  in  the  eight  counties  where  anthra- 
cite coal  is  produced  we  have  33,623  more  males  than  females. 
Of  the  Sclav  immigrants  into  our  country  an  average  of  70 
per  cent,  are  males.  It  has  been  shown  by  the  census  returns 
that  the  majority  of  male  immigrants  from  southern  Europe 
are  workingmen  between  15  and  40  years  of  age.  From  1891 
to  1900,  74.8  per  cent,  of  the  immigrants  was  classified  in  the 
above  age  group.  This  accounts  for  the  large  number  of 
bachelors  of  foreign  birth  in  the  coal  fields. 

Among  the  native  born  in  the  eight  counties  above  mentioned, 
the  females  outnumber  the  males  by  3,694.  This  is  due  to 
the  migration  of  the  male  descendants  of  foreign  born  parents 
who,  anxious  to  leave  the  mines,  are  forced  out  of  the  coal 
fields,  where  ambitious  young  men  have  very  few  openings. 

Between  the  Sclav  bachelor  and  the  Anglo-Saxon  native 
born  or  foreign  born  spinster  there  is  no  fellowship.  The 
races  are  not  so  far  removed  from  each  other  but  that  their 
union  would  result  in  a  progeny  beneficial  to  society.  The\ 
few  mixtures  which  have  taken  place  show  an  improved  stock, 
and  the  co-mingling  of  brain,  brawn  and  blood  result  in  a 
better  type  than  either  of  the  originals.  The  chief  hindrance 
to  such  unions  is  what  Sir  Henry  Maine  has  called  the  "  lofty 
contempt"  of  a  civilized  people  for  less  cultured  neighbors. 
This  contempt  will  only  pass  away  with  the  generation  of  Sclav 
immigrants  to  the  coal  fields.     In  the  meantime  many  spinsters, 

57 


58  ANTHKACITE    COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

capable  of  bearing  posterity,  are  living  in  isolation,  for  there  : 
no  scheme  as  Mr.  Wallace  proposes  whereby  they  may  be  s( 
apart  for  that  work.  Many  of  them  seek  marriage  as  M) 
Ward  puts  it  "  with  all  the  subtle  arts  with  which  men  see 
pecuniary  gain  "  but  the  supply  of  the  right  kind  of  men  i 
short  and  is  not  enough  to  go  around.  In  the  meantime  th 
Sclav  bachelor  is  sadly  in  need  of  a  helpmate  and  would  be 
better  man  in  every  respect  if  he  were  to  establish  a  home. 

The  anthracite  mining  population,  as  above  shown,  is  com 
posed  chiefly  of  foreign  born  and  their  descendants.  The  de 
scendants  show  strong  proclivities  to  intermarry  along  racia 
lines.  They  do  not  adhere  to  these,  however,  with  the  tenacity 
of  their  parents.  Descendants  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  races  inter 
marry,  while  many  unions  of  ^Anglo-Saxons  and  Germans  ar< 
contracted.  Religious  and  social  ties  largely  determine  th( 
circle  of  acquaintances  of  young  people  and  in  all  of  our  townf 
the  native  born  freely  associate.  The  foreign  born  are  gener- 
ally endogamous  as  to  race.  Out  of  64  marriages  contracted 
by  foreigners  in  one  of  our  towns  in  one  year  in  each  case  th( 
contracting  parties  belonged  to  the  same  race.  The  same  is 
also  true  of  the  Sclav;  out  of  118  Sclav  young  men  only  twc 
of  them  married  Sclav  women  of  a  diflPerent  race  from  that  oi 
their  own. 

Religion  seems  to  be  a  greater  barrier  than  race  to  the  inter- 
marriage of  descendants  of  foreign  born  parents.  There  are 
many  instances  where  Catholics  and  Protestants  marry.  As  a 
rule,  however,  such  mixed  marriages  do  not  turn  out  well.  As 
soon  as  children  are  born,  contention  and  strife  begin.  The 
ceremonies  of  the  churches  are  different  and  each  parent,  ad- 
hering to  the  faith  of  childhood,  insists  almost  invariably  that 
baptism,  confirmation  or  burial  be  administered  according  to 
the  rites  of  its  church.  Mixed  marriages  have  a  demoralizing 
effect  upon  the  children.  They  stand  between  conflicting 
creeds  and  many  of  them  grow  up  to  have  no  creed  whatso- 
ever. In  a  few  instances  the  husband  and  wife  form  a  com- 
pact that  the  female  children  follow  the  faith  of  the  mother 
and  the  male  that  of  the  father.     A  woman,  living  in  one  of 


THE   THREE   CRISES. 


59 


our  towns  under  such  a  contract,  always  prayed  for  girls,  and 
when  a  male  child  was  born  to  the  home  she  believed  the 
devil  had  a  hand  in  it.  To  intensify  the  difference  existing 
between  parents  by  a  conscious  effort  to  divide  the  children 
results  only  in  a  divided  household,  and  religion,  which  ought 
to  be  the  "  bond  of  perfection,"  becomes  an  occasion  of  strife 
and  bitter  rancor. 

In  the  counties  of  Lackawanna,  Luzerne  and  Schuylkill, 
where  the  vast  majority  of  the  people  are  mine  employees,  we 
have  the  following  number  of  persons  married  per  1,000  popu- 
lation : 


Year. 

Lackawanna 
per  1,000  Pop. 

Luzerne' 
per  1,000  Pop. 

Schuylkill 
per  1,000  Pop. 

1890 
1899 
1900 
1901 

16.50 
18.78 
15.26 
18.22 

16.08 
16.86 
16.34 

18.78 

15.12 
16.80 
16.62 
18.30 

Average. 

17.18 

17.02 

16.71 

These  figures  give  an  average  of  16.97  *  married  persons  per 
1,000  population  in  the  three  counties,  or  9.48  marriages  per 
1,000  population.  The  normal  marriage  rate  is  between  14 
and  16  persons,  or  between  7  and  8  marriages  annually  per 
1,000  persons  in  the  population. 

Mr.  Spencer  says  that  "  each  society  taken  as  a  whole  dis- 
plays a  process  of  equilibration  in  the  continuous  adjustment  of 
its  population  to  its  means  of  subsistence."  The  law  is  well 
illustrated  in  the  above  table.  The  year  1901  was  one  of  the 
most  prosperous  years  ever  known  in  the  anthracite  coal  in- 
dustry, and  the  marriage  rate  in  each  county  increased.  In 
Lackawanna  county  the  year  1899  was  a  prosperous  one  and 
the  marriage  rate  is  high ;  in  1900,  the  year  of  the  strike,  the 
production  of  the  mines  decreased  and  so  did  the  marriage  rate. 

*  From  January  1  to  June  30  this  year  1,134  marriage  licenses  were  issued 
in  Lackawanna  county,  of  which  358  or  31  per  cent,  were  taken  out  by  the 
Sclavs.  This  gives  a  marriage  rate  of  11  persons  per  1,000  population  in  six 
months.  The  average  age  of  the  Sclavs  was  :  Male,  26.3  years  ;  female,  21 
years.  That  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  was  :  Male,  25.5  years ;  female,  23.2  years. 
This  high  marriage  rate  indicates  prosperous  times  in  the  coal  fields. 


60 


ANTHRACITE    COAL   COMMUNITIES. 


These  figures,  however,  do  not  show  the  marriage  rate  of 
purely  mining  population.  We  can  get  this  more  accurate 
by  taking  mining  towns.  The  following  table  gives  the  nui 
ber  of  persons  married  per  1,000  population  in  the  towns 
Shenandoah,  Mahanoy  City  and  Olyphant,  which  are  whol 
dependent  on  the  mining  industry. 


Year. 

Shenandoah. 

Mahanoy  City. 

Olyphant. 

1899 
1900 
1901 

18.25 
21.60 
28.86 

19.13 
20.44 
23.52 

29.33 
26.29 
29.20 

Average. 

22.90 

21.03 

28.27 

These  figures  give  us  an  average  for  the  three  towns  of  24.C 
persons  married  per  1,000  population.  The  rate  for  the  thr< 
counties,  provided  all  the  persons  married  were  residents  « 
these  counties,  was  16.97  per  1,000  population.  A  certai 
number  of  these,  however,  was  from  other  counties  or  state 
so  that  the  average  would  be  lower  if  this  would  be  deducte4 
If  we  take  16.97  we  find  that  seven  more  persons  per  1,0C 
population  married  annually  in  mining  towns  than  the  avera^ 
in  the  three  mentioned  counties.  The  towns  of  Shenandoa 
and  Mahanoy  City  contain  18.9  per  cent,  of  the  population  c 
Schuylkill  county,  but  in  the  years  1899, 1900  and  1901,  42.8 
per  cent.,  49.7  per  cent,  and  67.7  per  cent,  of  the  total  num 
ber  of  marriages  in  the  county  in  these  respective  years  occurre 
in  these  two  mining  towns. 

This  high  marriage  rate  is  due  to  the  Sclav  immigrant* 
most  of  whom  are  vigorous  young  men  who  leave  their  home 
in  the  dawn  of  manhood  to  improve  their  circumstances  am 
station  in  life.  Most  of  these  young  men  make  this  countr; 
their  home.  Many  of  them  put  up  simple  dwellings  in  whicl 
the  young  couple  begin  the  conflict  of  life  as  husband  and  wife 
and  in  it  as  a  rule,  a  vigorous  family  will  soon  appear.  Goethe' 
idea  of  the  man  worthy  of  the  name  —  one  who  "  has  had  j 
child,  built  a  house,  and  planted  a  tree,"  prevails  among  th* 
Sclavs.  Of  the  total  number  of  marriages  in  the  year  188( 
in  Lackawanna  county,  the  percentage  of  Sclav  marriages  wai 


THE   THREE   CRISES. 


61 


7.88.  In  1895  it  had  increased  to  22.82  per  cent,  and  in  1901 
it  was  31.35  per  cent.  The  following  table  shows  the  per- 
centage of  Sclav  marriages  in  the  three  counties  of  Lacka- 
wanna, Luzerne  and  Schuylkill  for  the  years  1899-1901. 


Year. 

Lackawanna. 

Luzerne. 

Schuylkill. 

1899 
1900 
1901 

24.14% 

26.03 

31.35 

28.28% 

32.55 

34.63 

26.75% 

29.28 

33.58 

In  these  counties  the  Sclavs  form  about  16  per  cent,  of  the 
total  population,  but  nearly  30  per  cent,  of  the  total  number 
of  marriages  is  among  them.  If  we  again  take  purely  mining 
towns  the  preponderance  of  the  Sclav  marriages  as  compared 
with  those  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  mine  workers  comes  out  more 
clearly.  The  following  table  shows  this  for  the  towns  of  Shen- 
andoah, Mahanoy  City  and  Olyphant. 


Year. 

Shenandoah. 

Mahanoy  City. 

Olyphant. 

1899 
1900 
1901 

74.38% 

72.21 

74.12 

40.55% 

47.46 

48.92 

56.40% 

54.00 

53.60 

\^ 


In  Shenandoah  the  Sclavs  form  60  per  cent,  of  the  popula- 
tion and  have  an  average  of  73.57  per  cent,  of  the  marriages ; 
in  Mahanoy  City  they  are  less  than  30  per  cent,  of  the  popu- 
lation and  have  an  average  of  45.64  per  cent,  of  the  marriages, 
and  in  Olyphant  they  form  about  33  per  cent,  of  the  population 
and  have  an  average  of  54.70  per  cent,  of  the  marriages.  This  ten- 
dency to  matrimony  among  the  Sclavs  must  be  regarded  as  a  sign 
of  social  progress  and  a  pledge  to  society  of  better  conduct.  When 
groups  of  vigorous  young  men  cluster  together  and  find  their 
chief  relaxation  in  drink  and  riot,  the  peace  of  society  is  dis- 
turbed and  the  animal  propensity  of  the  men  intensified.  The 
sexual  appetite  is  acknowledged  to  be  one  of  the  strongest  in 
man.  Aphrodite  waits  on  Bacchus.  Men  of  strong  passions 
inflamed  by  spirituous  liquors  fall  into  bestiality  and  abomi- 
nations contrary  to  nature.  These  can  only  be  cured  in  one 
way.  Excesses  among  these  men  sometimes  lead  to  depths  of 
depravity  and  filth  known  only  to  physicians.    The  sexual  appe- 


62 


ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 


tite,  when  duly  regulated,  can  be  the  basis  of  refining  sentimen 
as  well  as  the  means  of  gratifying   the  desire  for  posterit 
The  founding  of  a  true  home  means  the  forming  of  a  bond  i 
family  relation,  the  softening  and  refining  of  the  passions,  tl 
guarantee  of  social  progress  and  the  elevation  of  human  cha 
acter.     We  may  expect  these  results  among  the  Sclavs  wl 
manifest  so  strong  a  tendency  to  found  homes,  and,  in  due  tim^ 
progress  towards  higher  types  of  domestic  institutions  will  appej 
among  them  as  among  former  immigrants  into  these  coal  field 
The  following  table,  showing  the  classification  of  the  rac( 
of  the  married  parties,  clearly  sets  forth  the  replacing  of  th 
Anglo-Saxon  and  Germans  by  the  Sclavs  as  stated  in  the  firs 
chapter.     We  classify  the  three  years'  marriages,  1899-190] 
in  the  towns  of  Shenandoah,  Mahanoy  City  and  Olyphant. 


Sclav. 

Anglo-Saxon  'and 
German. 

Native  Born. 

Shenandoah  

1,008 
388 
184 

54 

76 

101 

339 

Mahanoy  City 

Olyphant 

392 

75 

Total 

1,580 

231 

806 

A  study  also  of  the  industrial  status  of  the  bridegroom 
shows  that  the  English-speaking  section  of  our  population  ii 
being  forced  up  by  the  Sclavs.  The  following  classification  o 
percentages  in  the  various  occupations  is  made  of  1,436  bride- 
grooms in  Schuylkill  county,  for  the  year  1899. 


Sclavs. 

Anglo-Saxons  and 
Germans. 

Native  Born. 

Miners  

54.50% 
40.47 
2.64 
2.39 
0 

40.00% 
22.58 
12.90 
21.50 
3.02 

9.43% 
39.90 

Laborers* 

Business  and  clerkship. 
Trades 

11.29 
36.78 

Professions 

2.60 

100% 

100% 

100% 

The  following  classification  is  made  of  the  industrial  status 
of  918  bridegrooms  who  married  in  the  towns  of  Shenandoah 
and  Mahanoy  City  in  the  years  1900  and  1901  : 

*The  term  laborers  in  this  table  includes  miners  laborers  and  those 
classes  in  and  around  the  mines  known  as  company  men. 


Tbr- 


«"V/VE^' 


•THf 


OF 


sity 


^i^i^RNiV 


Three  Generations  of  Mine  Employees. 


THE  THREE   CRISES. 


63 


Sclavs. 

Anglo-Saxons  and 
Germans. 

Natiye  Born. 

vliners  

57.17% 
87.23 

3.79 

1.81 

0 

25.48% 
34.15 
18.83 
21.54 
0 

7.97% 
41.10 

jaborers* 

Business  and  clerkship. 
Trades 

17.39 
29.53 

Professions 

4.00 

100% 

100% 

100% 

These  figures  show  that  the  young  men  of  native  birth 
argely  enter  the  better  class  of  occupations  and  get  out  of  the 
nines.  The  ten  young  men,  in  the  last  two  towns,  engaged 
n  professions,  were  native  born.  In  the  class  of  laborers,  the 
lative  born  forms  a  larger  percentage  than  either  Sclavs  or 
Inglo-Saxons.  We  must  remember,  however,  that  in  this 
jlass  we  have  a  great  variation  in  the  grade  of  employment  in 
:he  mines.  Some  workers,  classified  as  laborers,  are  skilled 
nen,  the  risk  they  incur  is  small,  the  labor  is  not  disagreeable 
md  their  wages  are  high.  These  jobs  are  monopolized  by  the 
native  born.  Another  class  of  workers,  under  the  same  de- 
nomination, works  hard,  incurs  a  greater  risk,  is  engaged  in 
iirty  and  disagreeable  work,  and  the  wages  are  small.  In 
these  jobs  we  invariably  find  the  Sclav.  In  the  other  per- 
3entages  in  the  column  we  find  the  contrast  striking.  While 
57.17  per  cent,  of  the  Sclav  young  men  were  miners,  only 
7.97  per  cent,  of  the  native  born  were  so  engaged.  But  we  find 
that  46.92  per  cent,  of  the  native  born  were  engaged  in  business, 
3lerical  work  and  the  trades,  while  the  Sclavs  had  only  5.6 
per  cent,  of  their  number  so  employed.  The  proportion  of  the 
aative  born  entering  the  trades  in  the  whole  of  Schuylkill 
oounty  is  an  indicator  of  the  aspirations  of  the  descendants  of 
foreign  born  parents.  They  rise  to  a  higher  grade  of  employ- 
ment in  the  economic  hierarchy  and  thus  improve  their  social 
status.  In  conversation  with  intelligent  Sclavs  we  find  theN^ 
same  aspirations  in  their  life,  and  the  industrious  and  thrifty  ' 
among  them  hope  for  a  better  economic  and  social  status  for 
their  descendants.     Competition  for  the  better  positions  in  and 

*The  term  laborers  in  this  table  includes  miners'  laborers  and  those 
classes  in  and  around  the  mines  known  as  company  men. 


U 


64 


ANTHRACITE    COAL   COMMUNITIES. 


I  around  the  mines  will  become  keener  as  the  Sclavs  aspire  t 
them.  The  principle  of  primi  occupantes  will  favor  those  no\ 
in  possession.  These  will  hold  them  as  long  as  they  can  am 
their  descendants  will  have  the  advantage  of  heredity,  whic] 
tends  to  produce  capacity  best  suited  for  the  work. 

The  following  table  shows  the  average  age  of  the  bride  anc 
bridegroom  in  Schuylkill  county,  for  the  year  1899  : 


Total  Mates. 

Average 
Age  in  Years. 

Total  Females. 

Average 
Age  in  Years. 

Native  born 

924 

371 

71 

25.74 
26.88 
29.05 

959 
353 

64 

23.06 

Sclavs 

22.47 

Anglo-Saxons,  etc... 

23.97 

General  average 

26.22 

22.95 

During  this  year  79  widowers  married,  whose  average  ag< 
was  45.38  years,  and  68  widows,  whose  average  age  was  38.71 
years. 

If  we  take  again  the  purely  mining  towns  of  Shenandoah  an( 
Mahanoy  City,  we  get  the  following  figures  as  the  average  ag( 
of  the  bride  and  bridegroom  : 


Nationality. 

1900. 

1901. 

Male. 

Female, 

Male. 

Female. 

Native  bom 

26.63 
27.33 
27.64 

23.86 
22.96 
21.69 

24.07 
27.24 

30.00 

21.60 

Sclavs 

22.74 

Anglo-Saxons,  etc... 

27.50 

General  average 

27.07 

23.26 

26.33 

22.49 

The  average  ages  of  the  widowers  and  widows  who  marriec 
during  these  years  in  the  above  towns  were  43.39  and  41.45 
years  respectively. 

In  the  Northern  coal  fields  in  the  town  of  Olyphant,  th( 
average  age  of  those  who  married  in  the  years  1897-1900  in- 
clusive, was : 

Male. 

Native  born 25.08  yrs. 

Sclav 26.32    '* 

Anglo-Saxon 26.08    '' 


Female. 
23.00  yrs. 
19.72  '* 
22.78     " 


General  average 26.69  yrs. 


22.49  yrs. 


THE   THREE   CRISES.  65 

In  the  three  above-mentioned  mining  towns,  the  average  age 
of  the  bridegroom  was  26.58  years,  while  that  of  the  bride  was 
22.52  years.  These  figures  are  very  near  those  of  the  average 
for  the  whole  of  Schuylkill  county. 

The  average  age  at  time  of  marrying  among  the  mining 
population  of  England  is,  bridegrooms  24.06  years  and  brides 
22.46  years.  The  average  of  females  in  our  computation  comes 
very  close  to  that  of  England,  while  the  age  of  the  males  in 
our  communities  is  higher  by  2.52  years.  This  is  partly  due 
to  the  scarcity  of  women  among  the  Sclavs.  The  men  are 
forced  to  defer  marriage  until  such  time  as  they  can  import  a 
wife.  It  is  also  partly  due  to  the  rise  in  the  standard  of  living 
among  the  descendants  of  foreign  born  parents. 

The  average  age  of  the  Sclav  bride  should  possibly  be  lower. 
The  law  of  the  State  is,  that  no  license  can  be  issued  to  minors 
save  with  the  consent  of  the  parents.  Fifty  per  cent,  of  the 
Sclav  brides  in  Lackawanna  county  was  just  21  years  of  age  — 
a  uniformity  which  seems  to  imply  evasion  of  the  law.  The 
age  of  the  Sclav  woman  entering  matrimony  is  largely  deter- 
mined by  locality.  If  she  is  to  be  imported,  the  average  age  is 
high ;  if  she  is  with  parents  in  this  country  then  the  rule, 
as  set  forth  by  Krauss  for  the  Sclavs  of  southern  Europe, 
applies :  "  Generally  the  maidens  are  married  after  they 
pass  their  sixteenth  year,  wann  die  Briiste  zu  schwellen 
beginnen." 

Lippert  says  that  the  custom  prevails  among  the  Sclavs  of 
southern  Europe  to  conclude  marriages  at  certain  seasons  of  the 
year.  The  classification  (see  next  page)  of  the  marriages  of 
Schuylkill  county  for  the  years  specified  shows  clearly  that 
the  Sclav  abstains  from  wedlock  in  the  months  of  March  and 
December. 

The  Sclavs  abstain  from  marriage  during  Lent  and  Advent. 
The  Irish  and  German  Catholics  do  the  same.  The  only  va- 
riation is  when  marriage  is  compulsory.  Among  the  other 
nationalities  religious  observances  have  no  apparent  effect.  In 
purely  mining  towns  25  per  cent,  more  marriages  take  place  in 
the  autumn  months,  when  the  mines  work  most  regularly,  than 
6 


66 


ANTHRACITE    COAL   COMMUNITIES. 


1899. 

1900. 

1901. 

Month. 

Sclav. 

American 
and  Anglo- 
Saxon. 

Sclav. 

American 
and  Anglo- 
Saxon. 

Sclav. 

American 
and  Anglo- 
Saxon. 

January 

February.... 

March 

April 

47 
29 
2 
26 
39 
33 
36 
30 
34 
47 
52 
10 

86 

68 

64 

107 

68 

103 

53 

72 

123 

111 

106 

91 

73 
56 
1 
32 
46 
33 
41 
30 
44 
33 
19 
13 

62 
70 
60 
90 
69 

138 
68 
71 
94 

112 
94 
89 

101 
44 
3 
56 
41 
^36 
44 
51 
39 
48 
64 
10 

87 
67 
79 
89 

M^y 

67 

June 

148 

July 

82 

August 

September... 

October 

November... 
December ... 

62 

95 

100 

100 
93 

at  any  other  season  of  the  year.     The  following  table  of  mar- 
riages by  the  month  in  Schuylkill  shows  the  same  tendency. 

In  September,  October  and  November  we  have  869  marriages. 
In  December,  January  and  February      "      "      694  " 

In  March,  April  and  May  "      "      606  " 

In  June,  July  and  August  "      "      708  '' 

Here  the  maximum  number  of  marriages  in  the  fall  months 
exceeds  the  minimum  in  the  spring  months  by  30.26  per  cent. 
So  that  not  only  do  the  years  of  greatest  productivity  in  the 
mines  show  the  greatest  number  of  marriages,  but  the  months 
of  the  year  when  the  mines  work  most  regularly  show  the 
same  tendency.  Economic  prosperity  soon  stimulates  matri- 
mony and  the  average  mine  employee  of  marriageable  age  is 
ready  to  found  a  home  whenever  the  prospect  of  subsistence  is 
bright.  Increased  and  regular  wages  go  hand  in  hand  with 
increased  marriages  in  these  communities,  and  the  rapidity  with 
which  the  effect  follows  the  cause  shows  improvidence. 

Among  those  contracting  marriage  in  Schuylkill  county  in 
the  year  1899,  we  found  seven  divorced  men  and  eight  divorced 
women,  all  of  whom  were  native  born.  Among  the  foreign 
born  divorce  is  very  rare,  but  it  becomes  more  frequent  among 
descendants  of  foreign  born  parents,  for  the  reason  that  the 
native  born  female  insists  upon  equality  of  rights.  Geddes 
and  Thompson  speak  of  the  self-abnegation  of  woman  in  giv- 
ing up  the  "  morsel  of  bacon  "  to  the  husband  and  subsisting 


THE   THREE    CRISES.  67 

herself  on  bread,  as  the  best  arrangement  for  the  economic 
interests  of  the  family.  That  domestic  relation  is  of  common 
occurrence  among  husband  and  wife  of  foreign  birth.  But  the 
young  wife  of  native  birth  will  not  sacrifice  "  the  morsel  of 
bacon.''  She  insists  on  her  equal  share  and,  sometimes,  demands 
the  lion's  share  of  the  income.  It  is  one  of  the  results  of  the 
doctrine  of  "the  equality  of  the  sexes"  and  the  attempt  to 
place  the  female  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  male  in  the  com- 
petitive industrial  struggle  for  daily  bread.  These  teachings 
bring  two  results  which  become  yearly  more  marked :  on  the 
one  hand,  it  destroys  what  Goethe  called  the  eternal  womanli- 
ness of  the  female  ;  and  on  the  other,  it  disturbs  the  harmonious 
domestic  relations  of  the  family.  The  simple  and  healthful 
homes  of  foreign  born  ancestors,  in  which  the  Napoleonic 
principle  is  practiced  "  un  mari  doit  avoir  un  empire  absolu- 
sur  les  actions  de  sa  femine,"  are  happier  than  the  homes 
founded  by  their  descendants  where  the  equal-rights  doctrine 
is  enforced. 

The  marriage  rate  in  purely  mining  communities  we  found 
to  be  over  20  persons  per  1,000  population.  This  means  that 
annually  about  8,000  persons  marry,  nearly  50  per  cent,  of 
whom  are  Sclavs.  Those  who  occupy  a  low  economic  and 
social  status  enter  it  inconsiderately  and  afflict  society  with  a 
progeny  that  is  unlikely  to  rise  above  the  plane  occupied  by 
their  parents  in  society.  The  native  born  of  foreign  born 
parents  generally  aspire  to  a  higher  plane  than  that  occupied 
by  their  ancestors  in  the  industrial  hierarchy  and,  consequently, 
tend  to  defer  marriage  until  they  are  able  to  give  the  lady  of 
their  choice  a  comfortably  furnished  home.  These  also  exercise 
prudence  after  marriage,  and  beget  few  phildren.  The  Sclavs 
found  homes  and,  their  status  in  civilization  being  lower,  they 
are  satisfied  with  fewer  comforts  when  they  begin  married  life, 
and  practice  fewer  restraints  after.  These  conditions  point  to 
the  Sclavs  and  the  shiftless  descendants  of  foreign  born  parents 
as  the  two  sources  whence  the  population  of  the  anthracite  coal 
fields  will  be  replenished  in  future. 


68  anthracite  coal  communities. 

The  Number  of  Children  Born. 

In  studying  the  birth  rate  of  mining  communities  we  an 
met  with  the  difficulty  of  getting  accurate  statistics.  In  none 
of  the  counties  chiefly  dependent  on  the  mining  industry  is  th( 
statistics  of  birth  accurately  gathered.  Luzerne  county  makcE 
the  best  attempt.  Schuylkill  county  has  a  lax  system  that  k 
of  little  value,  while  Lackawanna  county  does  not  attempt  the 
task.  When  we  remember  how  important  it  is  to  keep  an 
accurate  account  of  the  children  born  to  citizens,  on  which  sc 
often  depend  the  rights  of  inheritance,  the  laxity  in  this  respect, 
common  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  is  little  short  of  criminal. 
Boards  of  health  in  mining  towns  have  prosecuted  some  physi- 
cians for  not  making  their  returns  as  required  by  law.  The 
attempt  has  only  resulted  in  reaping  a  few  dollars  from  fines 
while  the  physicians  persist  in  their  indifference.  The  intelli- 
gence and  education  of  physicians  assure  us  that  they  know  the 
importance  to  society  of  an  accurate  record  of  births.  To 
ascertain  the  cause  of  this  neglect  we  asked  one  of  them  why 
he  did  not  make  his  returns  ;  he  said  :  "  My  education  cost  me 
dearly,  and  I  won't  do  that  work  for  nothing.''  The  State 
pays  assessors  for  the  work  and  expects  physicians  to  do  it 
gratuitously. 

In  the  mining  towns  also  there  are  many  mid  wives  who  are 
not  registered,  and  hence  are  not  known  to  the  officers  of  the 
boards  of  health.  These  women  generally  serve  at  births 
among  the  Sclavs,  and  make  no  returns.  In  addition  to  these 
reasons,  in  many  of  our  towns  and  boroughs  there  is  no  local 
board  of  health,  and  no  one  pretends  to  gather  the  statistics  of 
birth. 

The  counties  of  Luzerne  and  Schuylkill  pay  five  cents  for 
each  birth  returned  by  the  assessors  of  the  boroughs  and  town- 
ships. This,  however,  is  not  inducement  enough  to  call  forth 
the  necessary  diligence  to  make  the  returns  accurate.  All  bor- 
oughs are  not  equally  culpable  in  this  regard.  The  commis- 
sioners at  Wilkesbarre  refuse  to  pay  the  assessors  for  the  births 
they  return,  if  they  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  returns  are 
not  accurate.     The  following  table  gives  the  birth  rate  as  re- 


THE  THREE   CRISES. 


69 


turned   in   Schuylkill    and    Luzerne   counties    for   the   years 
specified : 


Year. 

Schuylkill 
per  1,000  Pop. 

Luzerne 
per  1,000  Pop. 

Year. 

Schuvlkill 
per  1,000  Pop. 

Luzerne 
per  1,000  Pop. 

1894 
1895 
1896 
1897 

25.44 
26.90 
26.22 
27.42 

27.20 
26.16 

1898 
1899 
1900 
1901 

29.86 
27.40 
26.77 
28.26 

28.36 
25.73 
27.63 
28.40 

The  inaccuracy  of  the  record  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  the  re- 
turns from  Shenandoah,  for  these  years,  show  only  an  average 
of  16.03  per  1,000  population,  and  those  of  Pottsville  18.07. 
Special  efforts  were  made  to  get  accurate  returns  from  Mahanoy 
City  for  the  last  few  years.  The  Sclavs,  however,  have  baffled 
the  attempt,  although  the  returns  are  more  accurate  than  in  the 
ordinary  mining  town.     The  figures  are  as  follows  : 


Year. 

Per  1,000  Population. 

Year. 

Per  1,000  Population. 

1896 
1897 
1898 

29.13 
30.69 
35.84 

1899 
1900 
1901 

33.48 
35.63 
29.79 

In  Ashland,  where  the  population  is  wholly  made  up  of  de- 
scendants of  Anglo-Saxon  and  German  parents,  we  have  an 
average  birth-rate  for  the  last  eight  years  of  24.95  per  1,000 
population.  The  returns  from  Hazleton,  for  five  consecutive 
years,  show  an  average  birth-rate  of  31.92  per  1,000  population. 

A  visit  to  the  Sclav  quarters  of  any  mining  town  shows  how 
prolific  he  is  on  American  soil.  A  physician  who  had  consid- 
erable practice  among  them,  said  :  "  Among  these  women  it's 
a  birth  every  year."  A  Sclav  priest  said  :  "  Our  women  carry 
their  children  to  the  full  term  and  thank  God  they  are  not 
Americanized  as  yet."  All  the  Sclav  women  of  marriageable 
age  are  wives  and  sterility  is  rarely  found  among  them.  Min- 
ing towns  have  always  had  their  streets  filled  with  boys  and 
girls.  One  explained  it  by  saying  :  '^  It's  in  the  soil  I  guess." 
The  Sclavs  will  keep  up  the  record,  for  their  quarters  are  teem- 
ing with  children.  Hungary  and  Austria  lead  European  na-, 
tions  in  their  birth  rate  which  averages  44.0  and  38.6  respec- 


70 


ANTHRACITE    COAL   COMMUNITIES. 


lively  per  1,000  population.  The  birth-rate  amoDg  thes€ 
peoples  on  American  soil  cannot  be  accurately  secured,  but  we 
may  present  some  data  which  proves  that  they  have  not  lost  any 
of  their  genetic  vigor  by  emigrating. 

The  nationalities  of  southern  Europe  are  loyal  to  their 
churches,  and  the  several  parishes  keep  a  register  of  births. 
From  these  records  we  cannot  get  accurate  data  to  determine 
the  birth  rate,  for  the  reasons  that  the  priests  do  not  know  the 
exact  number  of  souls  in  their  parishes.  Families  and  single 
men  constantly  migrate  to  and  from  the  coal  fields.  The  fol- 
lowing figures  were  given  us  by  priests  in  charge  of  Sclav  con- 
gregations : 


Number  in  Parish. 

Number  of  Families. 

Number  of  Births 
in  1901. 

Per  1,000  Population. 

1,700 
1,500 
8,000 
4,000 
1,000 

350 
200 
1,300 
500 
251 

140 
110 
511 
220 

72 

72.35 
73.33 
63.87 
50.00 
72.00 

There  is  considerable  uniformity  in  the  figures  as  found  in 
parishes  far  removed  from  each  other  and,  although  they  can- 
not be  said  to  be  accurate,  they  indicate  a  high  birth-rate  among 
these  people. 

Under  normal  conditions,  natality  never  falls  below  20  to 
1,000  population,  and  never  goes  over  50.  The  norm  may  be 
fixed  at  35,  and  a  vigorous  and  healthful  community  has  a 
birth-rate  between  30  and  40  per  1,000  population.  Natality 
in  Sclav  colonies  in  anthracite  mining  communities  exceeds  this, 
for  the  reason  that  most  of  them  are  young  people,  and  the  age 
groups  below  20  and  over  40  years  are  virtually  wanting. 
Under  these  relations  it  is  possible  for  Sclav  colonies  to  raise 
the  birth-rate  to  70  per  1,000  of  Sclav  population.  Nitti  says 
that  Catholicism,  according  to  the  statistics  of  increase  in 
Europe,  is  less  favorable  to  increase  of  population  than  Protes- 
tanism.  That  is  not  the  case  in  these  communities.  All 
Sclavs  practically  are  adherents  of  the  Roman  or  Greek  Catholic 
Church,  but  they  multiply  as  rapidly  as  any  group  of  immi- 
grants to  the  anthracite  coal  fields.     Their  women  regard  chil- 


THE   THREE   CRISES.  71 

dren  as  a  blessing  from  God.  They  are  on  a  plane  of  civilization 
where  instinct  governs  propagation,  and  the  economic  well  being 
enjoyed  in  these  regions  removes  all  considerations  of  prudence 
as  to  the  number  of  children  brought  into  the  world.  The  high 
birth-rate  of  the  Sclavs  will  furnish  the  anthracite  coal  fields 
with  a  population  amply  sufficient  to  man  the  collieries.  These 
will  be  physically  and  intellectually  better  adapted  to  the  work 
and  will  continue,  through  the  quiet  process  of  industrial  com- 
petition, to  replace  Anglo-Saxons  and  Germans  in  our  towns 
and  villages.  Professor  Giddings  says  :  "  Birth  rate  diminishes 
as  the  rate  of  individual  evolution  increases."  This  law  will 
undoubtedly  operate  on  the  Sclav,  but  it  is  as  yet  a  long  way 
ofP.  Unconscious  natality  is  now  the  state  in  which  they  live, 
and  to  pass  from  that  to  rational  and  methodical  development 
will  require  some  time. 

The  naivete  of  enceinte  Sclav  women  is  a  subject  of  com- 
ment among  their  neighbors,  and  the  ease  with  which  they  pass 
the  crisis  of  parturition  is  a  surprise  to  English-speaking  women. 
One  of  them  was  seen  milking  a  cow  the  third  day  after  her 
child  was  bom,  and  another  was  on  the  culm  bank  gleaning 
coal  and  wading  through  a  creek  on  the  way  home  with  her 
burden  on  her  back  when  her  child  was  not  a  week  old.  This 
does  not  equal  what  Jukic  saw  in  Bosnia.  There  a  woman 
of  the  southern  Sclavs  was  seen  barefooted  cutting  ice  in  a 
frozen  brook  the  day  after  her  child  was  born.  The  husbands 
have  a  word  to  say  on  the  question  of  the  "  Wochenbett.'^ 
They  expect  their  wives  to  be  at  the  house  work  within  a  week, 
and  if  they  are  not  most  husbands  want  to  know  the  reason  why. 

Anglo-Saxons,  who  settled  in  these  regions  in  the  first  25 
years  of  the  development  of  the  coal  fields,  were  most  of  them 
miners  in  their  native  country.  The  fecundity  of  their  women, 
who  are  still  found  in  mining  towns,  gives  us  the  number  of 
children  born  to  women  of  the  mining  class.  The  following 
table  shows  the  average  number  of  children  born  to  women 
who  were  married  over  30  years  as  found  in  the  town  of  Oly- 
phant.  We  classify  them  into  three  groups,  according  to  the 
nativity  of  the  parents. 


72 


ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 


Average  Number 

of  Children 

Born. 

Average  Number 

of  Children 

Living. 

Per  Cent,  of 
Children  Living 

To  foreign  born  parents 

To  parents,  one  native  born .... 
To  native  bom  parents  

9.20 
9.10 

6.81 

5.16 
5.00 
4.50 

56.16% 

55.00 

69.45 

In  the  town  of  Blakely  we  got  results  nearly  the  same.     The 
figures  are  the  following  : 

Average  Born. 

Average  Living. 

Per  Cent.  Living 

To  foreign  bom  parents 

9.5 

8.7 
6.0 

5.1 
4.9 
4.0 

53.70% 
56.32 
A7S.33 

To  parents,  one  native  bom .... 
To  native  born  parents 

The  figures  show  a  lower  birth-rate  among  the  native  born, 
but  a  larger  percentage  of  their  children  live  than  of  those  oi 
foreign  born  parents.  The  birth-rate  is  as  2 : 3,  but  the  num- 
ber of  children  living  is  as  4:5.  So  that  13  native  bom 
mothers  —  taking  the  above  ratio  —  would  have  as  many  chil- 
dren living  as  1 1  foreign  born  mothers. 

The  early  settlers  in  these  coal  fields  were  largely  from  the 
British  Isles.  They  came  in  the  dawn  of  manhood  and  woman- 
hood and  raised  families  in  these  communities.  It  is  interesting 
to  learn  how  large  their  families  have  been.  The  following 
figures  are  based  on  a  computation  of  the  women  of  Irish,  Eng- 
lish and  Welsh  descent  married  for  30  years  or  more. 


Average  Bom. 

Average  Living. 

Percentage 
Living. 

English  parents 

10.63 

8.85 
8.30 

5.93 
6.00 
4.43 

55.62 

Irish  parents 

67.74 

Welsh  parents '. 

53.45 

The  birth  rate  is  high  in  each  case,  but  the  Irish  children 
show  a  greater  tenacity  of  life  on  American  soil  than  those  of 
either  the  English  or  Welsh. 

No  Sclavs  were  found  among  the  women  married  for  30 
years  or  more.  Another  class  of  women  exists  —  those  mar- 
ried from  one  to  thirty  years  —  and  among  them  Sclav  mothers 
are  found.  We  classify  these  according  to  nationality  and 
duration  of  marriage. 


THE  THREE  CRISES. 


73 


Married  from  1  to  5  Years.     108  Women  ;  59  Per  Cent.  Sclav. 


Average  Bom. 


Ayerage  liiving. 


Percentage 
Living. 


English 

Welsh , 

Austrian ... 
Hungarian 
American.. 


1.50 
1.70 
2.00 
2.00 
1.63 


1.50 
1.20 
1.80 
1.66 
1.36 


100.00 
70.60 
89.38 
91.60 
83.30 


Married  from  5  to  10  Years.     121  Women  ;  70  Per  Cent.  Sclav. 


English 

Welsh 

Austrian . . . 
Hungarian 
American... 


Average  Bom. 


4.22 
4.13 
4.00 
4.24 
2.90 


Average  Living. 


3.28 
2.50 
3.19 
3.24 
2.10 


Percentage 
Living. 


77.63 
60.34 
79.76 
76.42 
72.56 


Married  from  10  to  15  Years.     81  Women  ;  47  Per  Cent.  Sclav. 


English.... 

Welsh 

Austrian... 
Hungarian 
American . 


Average  Bom. 


5.00 
6.00 
5.30 
4.00 
3.72 


Average  Living. 


3.62 
3.70 
3.30 
3.00 

2.84 


Percentage 
Living. 


72.50 
73.24 
51.74 
72.46 
76.34 


Married  from  15  to  20  Years.     73  Women  ;  12  Per  Cent.  Sclav. 


English.... 

Welsh 

Austrian... 
Hungarian 
American . 


Average  Born. 


5.73 
5.25 
7.50 
8.00 
5.13 


Average  Living. 


3.46 
4.10 
4.50 
5.30 
3.60 


Percentage 
Living. 


60.46 
78.09 
60.00 
66.60 
70.13 


Married  from  20  to  25  Years.    53  Women  ;  3  op  them  Sclav. 


Average  Bom. 

Average  Living. 

Percentage 
Living. 

English 

9.60 
7.80 
7.60 
7.80 
7.00 

6.10 
4.40 
4.60 
6.00 
4.70 

63.53 

Welsh 

56.46 

Austrian 

60.86 

Irish 

76.19 

American 

66.92 

74  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

Mabbied  fbom  25  to  30  Yeabs.     56  Women  ;  no  Sclavs. 


Average  Bom. 

Average  Living. 

Percentage 
Living. 

English 

9.00 
7.60 
9.00 
9.10 

5.60 
4.76 
6.54 
5.50 

62.20 

Welsh 

62.63 

Irish 

72.00 

American 

60.44 

The  Sclav  families  are  found  in  the  three  first  groups  and 
the  percentage  of  their  children  living  will  favorably  compare 
with  that  of  any  other  people. 

The  borough  taken  by  us  is  wholly  made  up  of  foreign  born 
and  their  descendants.  Hence  in  the  last  class  are  found  native 
born  women  of  foreign  born  parents.  These  in  the  three  first 
groups  show  a  tendency  to  a  diminished  birth  rate  as  compared 
with  the  foreign  born  women.  But  in  the  three  last  groups  no 
perceptible  difference  exists.  The  variation  is  due  to  the  inroad 
of  ideas  of  prudence  and  restraint  in  procreation  among  the 
young  women  of  native  birth,  while  the  older  generation  of 
native  born  mothers  were  dominated  by  the  ideas  and  senti- 
ments which  swayed  their  parents  from  across  the  ocean.  How 
different  these  sentiments  are  may  be  judged  from  the  utterance 
of  one  of  these  younger  mothers,  who  was  one  of  nine  children ; 
she  had  given  birth  to  her  second  child  within  three  years  of 
her  marriage,  and  under  the  restraint  due  to  the  care  of  her  off- 
spring, she  said :  "  No  more  for  me  if  I  have  to  go  to  hell  for 
it."  In  a  mothers'  meeting  composed  of  foreign  born  women 
and  their  descendants,  the  lecturer  attempted  to  show  the  evil 
consequences  of  preventative  measures  as  used  by  women.  The 
elder  mothers  thought  it  sound  doctrine,  but  the  younger  said  : 
"  That's  an  old  song."  It  is  this  sentiment  which  permeates 
the  younger  generation  of  women  of  foreign  born  parents  that 
results  in  the  discovery  of  Dr.  G.  J.  Engelmann,  who  found  21 
per  cent,  of  the  women  of  laboring  classes  of  St.  Louis  sterile, 
and  those  who  bore  children  did  not  have  more  than  2.1  to  the 
family.  The  doctor  says  that  ^^  sterility  has  gone  from  worse 
,to  worse  in  the  face  of  gynecologic  progress,"  and  comes  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  main  causes  of  this  are  moral  and  not  phys- 
ical.    Guyau  has  said  of  France  :  "  En  somme  la  depopulation 


THE   THREE   CRISES.  75 

francaise  est  purement  et  simplement  ane  question  de  morale.'* 
Lilienfeld  has  come  to  the  same  conclusion,  that  the  decrease 
and  stagnation  in  population  are  due  more  to  moral  than  phys- 
ical causes." 

As  a  conclusion  from  his  studies  Dr.  Engelmann  states : 
"Greater  luxury  and  wealth  go  hand  in  hand  with  higher 
sterility."  The  prime  cause  of  this  lower  birth-rate  among  the 
women  of  foreign  born  parents  is  the  craving  for  social  enjoy- 
ment. It  is  the  suppression  of  the  maternal  instinct  by  the 
Iqvc  of  excitement  in  social  relations.  Dress,  society,  amuse- 
ments—  these  cut  across  the  sacred  instinct  of  motherhood. 
Virchow  said  that  the  working  classes  had  no  pleasure  save 
those  they  could  attain  by  sexual  relations  and  the  excitement 
of  alcoholic  drinks.  The  tension  of  life  is  much  higher  to-day 
than  it  was  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  and  the  rush  of  excite- 
ment opens  various  avenues  of  enjoyment  to  young  people 
which  their  ancestors  never  tasted.  They  partake  of  these 
enjoyments  and  restrict  procreation  —  a  thing  their  mothers 
thought  a  mortal  sin.  It  sometimes  proves  mortal  to  the 
daughters  for,  with  all  their  skill,  nature  will  avenge  herself. 
Dr.  W.  H.  Wathen  said :  "  It  is  important  to  impress  upon 
the  laity  that  an  abortion  at  the  end  of  the  first  month 
is  just  as  criminal  as  an  abortion  at  the  end  of  the  fifth 
month,  because  if  there  is  even  any  spirituality  in  the  child 
it  must  be  at  the  beginning.  Induced  abortion  is  a  moral, 
religious,  and  physical  evil.  Induced  abortions  are  followed 
by  diseases  much  more  severe  than  if  they  occurred  natur- 
ally." 

The  crusade  against  large  families,  which  Geddes  and 
Thompson  describe  as  "the  extreme  organic  nemesis  of  in- 
temperance and  improvidence,"  is  doing  its  work  among  the  la- 
boring classes  very  effectually.  But  the  evil  comes  in  when  the 
illiterate  laity  practices  methods  which  mean  physical  and  moral 
ruin.  The  above  authors  see  this  evil  and  while  advocating 
Neo-Malthusianism  they  "protest  against  regarding  artificial 
means  of  preventing  fertilization  as  adequate  solutions  of  sexual 
responsibility."     They  add  that  "after  all,  the  solution  is  pri- 


76  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

marily  one  of  temperance."  *  Will  temperance  suffice  ?  Mos 
of  the  women  of  the  working  classes  are  so  fecund  that  "  nolh 
tangere  "  is  the  only  safe  rule,  and,  social  relations  being  what 
they  are,  that  is  out  of  the  question.  Tolstoi  has  cried  againsi 
the  bestiality  of  the  sexual  relations.  Can  it  be  otherwise 
under  existing  conditions  among  the  majority  of  the  work- 
ing classes?  Four  rooms,  scantily  furnished,  are  not  favor- 
able conditions  to  temperance.  Ellis  il  font  diaque  nuit,  said 
one  of  the  miners.  To  guard  against  the  natural  sequence 
of  this  indulgence  many  crude  methods  are  employed  which 
result  in  physical  and  moral  ruin.  The  "  fruits  of  philosophy,'" 
given  to  the  illiterate,  are  the  fruits  of  Sodom,  and  the  advo- 
cates of  restriction  have  a  grave  responsibility  resting  upon 
them  safely  to  lead  the  blind. 

The  Angel  of  Death  in  the  Home. 
Geddes  and  Thompson  have  said  that  death  is  the  price  paid 
for  a  body,  the  penalty  its  attainment  and  possession  sooner  or 
later  involves,  and  in  speaking  of  the  "  chain  of  life  "  which  is 
continuous  they  compare  the  bodies  to  "  torches  which  burn 
out,  while  the  living  flame  has  passed  throughout  the  organic 
series  unextinguished.  The  bodifes  are  the  leaves  which  fall  in 
dying  from  the  continuous  growing  branch."  The  eminent 
biologists  very  poetically  explain  the  fact  of  death,  but  the 
moment  we  pass  from  the  realm  of  imagination  to  that  of  the 
actual  life  of  society  and  observe  how  swiftly  the  torches  are 
extinguished  among  certain  classes  of  our  population,  and  how 
soon  some  leaves  fall  off  certain  sections  of  the  "  continuously 
growing  branch,"  the  poetry  turns  to  a  tragedy  replete  with 
suffering  and  waste.  It  has  long  been  observed  that  a  high 
birth-rate  among  the  lower  classes  is  invariably  accompanied 
by  a  high  death-rate.  This  law  is  verified  in  the  study  of  the 
death-rate  of  anthracite  communities.  The  mortality  among 
the  Sclav  children  in    towns  where   sanitary  conditions  are 

*  A  miner's  wife,  who  had  borne  9  children  in  12  years  and  whose  health 
was  ruined,  protested  against  the  brutality  of  her  husband,  when  the  fellow 
said  :  **  Well  I'll  take  the  pay  and  go  elsewhere." 


THE  THREE  CRISES.  77 

unfavorable  to  health  and  where  families  crowd  into  small 
houses  unfit  for  human  habitation,  is  great. 

Some  philanthropists  have  suggested  the  organization  of 
mothers'  meetings  to  teach  the  first  principles  in  the  care  of 
children  to  these  families.  That  undoubtedly  would  do  some 
good,  but  before  a  reform  can  be  effected,  the  greed  of  land- 
lords must  be  restrained,  local  boards  of  health  must  be  regen- 
erated, and  an  effectual  curb  placed  on  the  animalism  of  human 
nature  which  defies  the  teaching  of  science. 

Gynecologists  say  that  the  health  of  the  child  as  well  as  that 
of  the  mother  demands  at  least  two  or  three  years  between 
births.  In  most  homes  with  large  families  women  get  along 
with  half  that.  They  pay  the  penalty.  Nature,  taxed  beyond 
the  limit  of  profitable  expenditure  of  force,  breaks  down.  And 
while  this  goes  on  "  mothers'  meetings "  will  not  check  this 
waste.  Loria  touches  deeper  depths  when  he  says  :  "  La  duree 
de  la  vie  d'un  homme  est  essentiellement  le  resultat  de  ses 
conditions  de  richesse  on  de  pauvrete :  et  ceta  est  si  yrai  que 
la  riche  a  une  existence  moyenne  de  55  a  56  ans,  tandis  que  la 
moyenne  de  la  vie  du  pauvre  est  de  28  ans." 

In  the  year  1900,  the  death-rate  for  the  whole  of  Pennsyl- 
vania was  14.3  per  1,000  population,  which  is  evidently  too 
low.  The  death-rate  as  computed  by  the  census  for  a  registra- 
tion area  was  17.8  per  1,000  population.  We  would,  however, 
expect  a  lower  death-rate  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  than  in 
a  larger  area,  because  of  the  large  number  of  immigrants  in  the 
State,  who  are  in  age  groups  where  the  expectation  of  life  is 
high.  In  the  anthracite  coal  fields  many  deaths  are  due  to  the 
nature  of  the  industry.  In  1901,  513  were  killed  in  the  mines 
or  3.47  per  1,000  employees  or  about  .81  per  1,000  population. 
Among  the  100,000  Sclavs  in  our  area,  there  are  practically 
no  aged  people.  This  ought  to  reduce  our  death-rate.  We 
find,  however,  that  the  death-rate  in  anthracite  coal  communi- 
ties is  higher  than  that  of  the  registration  area.  This  can- 
not be  accounted  for  by  deaths  due  to  the  mining  industry, 
for  as  was  above  shown,  it  is  less  than  1  per  1,000  popula- 
tion. 


78 


ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 


The  death-rate  in  the  several  towns  varies  greatly.  Th< 
following  table  gives  that  of  the  places  mentioned  for  the  yea: 
1900: 


Per  1,000  Population. 


Carbondale 21.8 

Mt.  Carmel 22.4 

Pittston 21.8 

Plymouth 21.0 

Hazleton 14.4 


.      Per  1,000  Population. 

Potts  ville 

Scranton 

Wilkesbarre 

Mahanoy  City 

.  15.5 
.  20.7 
.  16.6 

9fi  7 

Average 

.  20.1 

The  general  average  in  this  table  is  2.3  per  1,000  popula- 
tion higher  than  that  of  the  census  returns.  In  the  town  oi 
Mahanoy  City  the  death-rate  for  the  last  eight  years  has  aver- 
aged 21.1  per  1,000  population.  In  the  year  1900,  the  aver- 
age death-rate  of  Luzerne  county  was  nearly  that  of  the  State, 
but  in  Plymouth,  a  purely  mining  town,  it  was  21  per  1,000 
population.  The  death-rate  in  the  whole  of  Schuylkill  county 
for  the  year  1900  was  17.11  per  1,000  population  and  yet  in 
Shenandoah,  in  the  same  year,  it  was  24.45,  and  for  the  last  six 
years  it  reached  an  average  of  22.23  in  that  town.  The  mor- 
tality returns  from  twenty  towns  in  the  coal  fields  in  1901 
show  an  average  death-rate  of  19.65  per  1,000  population. 

A  study  of  the  deaths  which  have  occurred  in  the  borough 
of  Mahanoy  City  from  1894  to  1901  inclusive,  gives  the  fol- 
lowing figures  for  the  age  groups  of  the  three  classes,  Sclavs, 
Anglo-Saxons  and  native  born  : 


Parents. 

1  ySv. 

Age, 
2  to  5 
Years. 

Age,  6  to  20 
Years. 

20  Y^e^ars 
and  Over. 

Total. 

Grand 
Total. 

Per- 
centage 
of 

M. 

F. 

M. 

F. 

M. 

F. 

M. 

F. 

M. 

F. 

Total. 

Sclavs 

249 

78 

215 

189 

61 

165 

60 
34 

65 

49 
24 
53 

22 
46 
50 

12 
23 
33 

165 

389 

96 

34 

292 
82 

496 
547 
426 

284 
400 
333 

780 
947 
759 

31.37 

Ang.  Saxons. 
Nat.  born 

38.09 
30.54 

Total 

542 

415 

159 

126 

118 

68 

650 

408 

1469 

1017 

2486 

100 

In  this  mining  town  the  Sclavs  form  about  30  per  cent,  of 
the  population  and  furnish  during  these  years  31.37  per  cent, 
of  the  total  number  of  deaths,  which  is  a  death-rate  of  22  per 
1,000   of  their  population,  notwithstanding  the   fact  that  the 


THE   THREE   CRISES. 


79 


families  are  young  and  many  bachelors  are  found  among  them. 
This  enormous  waste  of  life  among  the  Sclavs  is  due  to  infant 
mortality  :  56.1  per  cent,  of  the  deaths  are  of  children  in  their 
first  year  of  life.  Another  13.9  per  cent,  die  between  two  and 
five  years,  making  a  total  of  70  per  cent,  of  the  deaths  among 
children  before  they  reach  five  years  of  age.  If  we  reduce  the 
above  table  to  percentages,  infant  mortality  as  seen  in  the  two 
first  age  groups  is  very  high. 


Age  at  Decease. 

Sclavs. 

English-Speak- 
ing. 

General. 

1  vear 

56.1% 
13.9 
4.3 
25.7 

30.4% 
10.3 
8.5 
50.8 

38.4% 
11.4 

2  to  5  years 

6  to  20  years 

7.4 

20  years  and  over 

42.8 

100 

100 

100 

Among  the  English-speaking,  children  not  yet  five  years  of 
age  form  40.7  percent,  of  the  total  mortality.  Those  20  years 
and  over  form  50.8  per  cent.  The  mortality  of  the  aged  Eng- 
lish-speaking reduces  the  percentage  in  the  two  first  age  groups 
in  this  column.  If  this  were  reduced  to  the  same  percentage 
as  found  in  the  Sclavs'  column,  infant  mortality  among  the 
English-speaking  would  be  54.1  per  cent.  In  the  general 
column  infants  not  five  years  of  age  form  nearly  50  per  cent, 
of  the  total  mortality. 

The  study  of  the  deceased  in  Shenandoah  reveals  the  same 
high  percentage  of  infant  mortality.  During  the  last  six  years 
an  annual  average  of  62.1  per  cent,  of  the  total  deaths  is  that 
of  infants  not  five  years  of  age. 

Here  then  is  a  tremendous  waste  of  life.  No  mothers  among 
us  work  in  factories ;  the  towns  are  not  congested  as  in  large 
cities ;  unsanitary  conditions  prevail  and  intoxicants  are  in- 
dulged in,  but  the  chief  cause  of  this  infant  mortality  lies  in 
ignorance.  Better  sanitary  conditions  ought  to  prevail,  and  if 
the  Christian  people  of  these  communities  who  bewail  the 
slaughter  of  the  infants  of  Bethlehem  were  to  arouse  them- 
selves to  the  slaughter  of  the  innocents  which  goes  on  annually 
in  anthracite  mining  towns,  better  conditions  would  soon  pre- 
vail and  a  moiety  of  this  sufi*ering  and  loss  would  be  mitigated. 


80  ANTHRACITE   COAL.   COMMUNITIES. 

Daring  the  eight  years  from  1894-1900,  27  per  cent,  of  th 
children  born  in  Mahanoy  City  died  before  they  reached  on 
year  of  life ;  if  we  compute  the  number  dying  before  they  ar 
five  years  of  age,  the  percentage  is  35.04.     The  still-born  ar< 
excluded  from  this  computation.    The  only  two  countries  in  Eu 
rope  which  exceed  this  rate  of  mortality  among  infants  during  th( 
first  year  of  life,  are  Bavaria  and  Russia,  which  have  30.6  pe] 
cent,  and  29.6  per  cent,  respectively.     The  economic  conditioi 
of  the  mining  population  is  far  better  than  that  of  the  Europeai 
countries  referred  to,  and  infant  mortality,  in  a  locality  wel 
favored  by  nature,  should  not  approach   the  above  figures 
The  Sclavs  are  amenable  to  discipline  and   local   boards  oj 
health,  were  they  alive  to  their  duties,  would  so  improve  the 
sanitary  conditions  of  these  towns  as  to  remove  many  evilg 
which  now  slay  the  infants.     An  enlightened  philanthropy, 
which  would  impart  to  these  mothers  information  regarding 
the  care  of  infants  and  the  best  food  for  them  in  a  climate 
which  varies  greatly  from  that  of  their  native  homes,  would 
partly  check  this  quenching  of  the  torches.     Loria  says  that 
among  the  rich  in  England  infant  mortality  under  five  years  of 
age  is  not  over  5.7  per  cent.     Here  it  is  35.04  per  cent. 

The  above  figures  of  infant  mortality  also  show  how  much 
more  susceptible  the  male  children  are  to  the  ravages  of  disease 
than  the  female.  Of  the  1,242  children,  which  died  before 
they  reached  five  years  of  age,  701  or  56.44  per  cent,  were 
male,  and  541  or  43.56  percent,  were  female.*  Thus  of  every 
100  deaths  among  children  under  five  years  of  age,  there  would 
be  about  13  more  boys  than  girls.  Of  99  children  which  lived 
on  an  average  of  only  four  days,  60  of  them  were  male,  and 
39  female.  The  male  child  in  its  prenatal  condition  seems  to 
show  the  same  feebleness  to  resist  antagonistic  forces.  A 
woman  of  considerable  experience  said :  "  It  is  much  easier  to 
kill  a  male  than  a  female  foetus.^'  Among  the  still-born  the 
proportion  of  boys  far  exceeds  that  of  girls.  Dr.  Ploss  puts  it 
at  100  girls  to  140  boys. 

*  The  returns  for  births  being  inaccurate,  it  is  impossible  to  state  correctly 
the  ratio  between  the  male  and  female  children  born  to  our  mine  workers. 


THE  THREE  CRISES. 


81 


In  the  years  1894-1900,  there  were  85  still-born  births  in 
Mahanoy  City,  of  these  68  or  80  per  cent,  belonged  to  English- 
speaking  mothers,  and  17  or  20  per  cent,  to  Sclav  mothers. 
The  figures  clearly  show  that  the  native  born  women  of  foreign 
born  parents  give  birth  to  a  larger  proportion  of  still-born 
children  than  do  the  Sclav  women.  Does  this  tendency  go 
hand  in  hand  with  that  of  artificial  restriction  of  the  birth-rate  ? 
It  is  true  that  the  higher  man  rises  in  social  conditions  the 
more  it  costs  to  perpetuate  the  race.  The  question  that  rises 
is,  does  the  increased  number  of  still-born  children  of  native 
born  women  of  foreign  born  parents  show  a  pathological  con- 
dition, or  is  it  an  incident  in  the  higher  evolution  of  the  race  ? 
Dr.  Engelmann  says  that  relative  sterility  among  those  who 
have  conceived  but  who  never  have  carried  a  child  a  full  term, 
is  higher  among  Americans  than  the  foreign  born.  In  the 
former  it  is  from  9  to  12  per  cent,  and  in  the  latter  from  3  to 
6  per  cent.  This  seems  to  point  to  pathological  conditions  as 
the  cause  of  the  increase.  The  evil  is  not  due  to  one  sex  more 
than  another.  It  is  the  opinion  of  those  who  observe  the  prog- 
ress of  life  in  anthracite  towns,  that  the  sons  of  foreign  bom 
parents  are  not  so  clean  as  were  their  fathers. 

A  classification  of  the  deaths  according  to  the  month  of  the 
year  in  which  they  occurred  gives  the  following  percentages  : 


January. . 
February 

March 

April 

May 

June. 


July 

August 

September 
October.... 
November. 
December . 


11.9« 
10.7 
8.1 
7.6 
7.9 
7.9 


If  we  divide  the  year  into  four  quarters  we  have  the  follow- 
ing rate : 

January,  February,  March 694  or  26.2  % 

April,  May,  June 526  or  19.8 

July,  August,  September 809  or  30.5 

October,  November,  December 616  or  23.4 

The  summer  months  are  the  most  fatal.     Then  the  infant 
"  torches  "  go  out,  for  at  this  season  the  unsanitary  condition  of 
7 


82 


ANTHRACITE    COAT.   COMMUNITIES. 


these  towns  shows  how  fatal  filth  and  uncleanness  can  be.  I 
the  winter  months  the  aged  die,  and  this  season  stands  next  t 
the  highest  in  the  rate  of  mortality.  This  comes  out  clearly  ii 
the  following  table  which  gives  the  average  age  of  the  decease* 
of  each  month : 


Month. 

Female. 

Male. 

Month. 

Female. 

Male. 

January .... 
February... 

March  

April 

May 

27.6  yrs. 
24.2     " 
27.6     " 
27.5     " 
22.1     *' 
29.8     '' 

28.7  yrs. 
28.9     " 
28.4     " 
20.2     " 
24.1     " 
22.7     '' 

July 

16.5  yrs. 
14.8    '' 
17.2    " 
26.4    '' 
26.2    •• 
26.7    " 

16.0  yrs. 
16.5    " 
20.9    '' 
27.0    " 
26.4    " 

August 

September... 

October 

November... 
December  ... 

June 

30.5    " 

The  average  age  of  the  deceased  was  24  years  for  the  female 
and  24.8  years  for  the  male.  According  to  the  last  census  the 
average  age  of  the  deceased  in  the  country  at  large  was  35.2 
years. 

From  the  study  of  the  three  crises  in  anthracite  coal  com- 
munities, one  feels  that  the  greatest  need  of  reform  is  in  a  sphere 
where  it  is  most  difficult  to  accomplish.  The  life  and  death, 
the  character  and  usefulness  of  the  individual,  which  as  Sir 
Henry  Maine  says  is  the  center  of  our  modern  civilization,  de- 
pend upon  the  intelligence  and  character  of  the  parties  con- 
tracting marriage.  As  long  as  the  shiftless  and  the  ignorant, 
the  impoverished  and  the  careless,  contract  marriage  and  are 
swayed  by  animal  instinct  only  in  the  sexual  relation,  all  re- 
forms must  be  futile.  Society  will  be  as  Sisyphus,  ever  striv- 
ing and  ever  called  anew  to  the  same  task.  Romance  writers 
generally  associate  poverty  with  a  large  family.  Their  obser- 
vations are  correct.  Everywhere  in  these  mining  towns  the 
shiftless  and  intemperate  bring  many  children  into  the  world, 
whose  bodies  are  not  properly  fed,  whose  minds  are  distorted 
and  whose  hearts  are  cursed.  The  parents  have  nothing  and, 
falling  into  a  state  of  indifference  as  to  the  morrow  and  its  evils, 
they  inflict  society  with  their  progeny,  and  scotch  the  advance- 
ment of  man.  The  law  of  social  capillarity  has  no  ameliorating 
influence  on  them.  Their  envy  is  excited  as  they  see  others 
rising  in  the  social  scale,  who  once  occupied  the  same  social 


THE  THREE  CRISES.  83 

status  as  themselves.  As  immigrants  they  started  life  in  a  new 
environment  on  a  par ;  by  thrift  and  industry,  some  accumulate 
wealth,  others  accumulate  nothing  save  misery  and  vice,  which 
are  intensified  in  a  manifold  progeny.  The  deterioration  of  the 
shiftless  is  rapid.  From  among  them  rise  the  disturbers  of 
industrial  peace.  They  will  not  work  themselves  and  will  not 
permit  others  to  do  so  in  peace.  They  have  a  natural  repug- 
nance to  manual  labor,  and  go  around  to  persuade  others  who 
do  so  that  they  should  have  ease  and  plenty.  It  is  the  source 
of  class  distinction,  and  the  root  of  it  lies  in  personal  qualifica- 
tions and  capacity  to  carry  on  the  conflict  of  life. 

Under  the  laws  of  nature  the  brood  of  the  unfit  would  soon 
be  eliminated,  but  under  our  social  relations  they  are  fed,  clothed 
and  educated  free  of  charge  to  the  parents,  who  consume  all 
they  make  in  gratification  of  appetite.  What  to  do  with  this 
class  baffles  the  wisest  reformers.  It  may  mean  hardship  to 
apply  to  it  the  doctrine  of  Nietzsche,  and  yet  some  means  should 
be  used  to  eliminate  this  parasitic  class  from  the  social  body. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  have  the  vast  majority  of  workers  who 
are  operated  upon  by  the  law  of  social  capillarity.  They  rise 
in  the  social  hierarchy.  Their  wants  multiply,  and  as  they 
advance  in  luxury  and  wealth,  their  sterility  increases.  Pro- 
fessor Giddings  says  :  "  When  the  entire  population  voluntarily 
diminishes  its  birth-rate,  it  gives  indubitable  proof  that  it 
severely  feels  the  pressure  of  its  natural  tendency  to  increase 
faster  than  it  is  possible  to  raise  the  general  plane  of  living.'' 
The  descendants  of  the  foreign  born  raise  the  general  plane  of 
their  living  and  it  is  at  the  cost  of  lowered  natality.  The  pro- 
ductivity of  the  mines  is  at  its  meridian.  Each  year  these 
collieries  draw  nearer  to  the  point  of  marginal  productivity,  and 
in  the  natural  decline  of  the  industry  the  share  given  labor  of 
the  productive  wealth  will  not  be  increased.  Hence  if  members 
of  the  social  group  raise  the  standard  of  living  it  must  be  at  the 
cost  of  natality.  The  great  law  that  individuation  and  genesis 
are  antagonistic  is  well  illustrated  here.  The  income  of  each 
family  in  our  communities  is  limited  and  if  it  is  spent  in  raising 
the  standard  of  living,  then  natality  must  be  lowered. 


84  ANTHRACITE   CX)AL   COMMUNITIES. 

But  then  the  question  comes,  is  this  raising  the  standard  c 
living  and  lowering  natality,  synonymous  with  social  progress 
Lilienfeld  says  that  it  is  the  law  of  general  validity  in  biology 
that  the  higher  living  beings  raise  themselves  in  the  hierarchi 
cal  scale  of  organism,  their  prolific  energy  grows  weaker.  Th 
same  truth  has  been  emphasized  by  Spencer  who  says,  tha 
among  the  lowly-organized  creatures,  mortality  is  enormous 
and  longevity  and  diminution  of  fertility  are  found  in  ascend 
ing  to  creatures  of  higher  and  higher  developments.  In  biolog; 
this  is  true,  but  unfortunately  the  laws  of  biology  are  not  fol 
lowed  by  men  endowed  with  intelligence  to  choose  life  or  death 
In  communities  enjoying  a  high  degree  of  culture,  a  low  natality 
may  be  due  to  morbid  conditions  superinduced  by  prostitution 
disease,  degeneracy  and  derogation  of  the  sexes  from  their  re 
spective  types.  When  the  medical  fraternity  discussed  th* 
paper  of  Dr.  Engelmann  on  "  Sterility  among  Americai 
Women,"  one  of  the  speakers  said  that  gonorrhoea  was  respon 
sible  for  the  pathological  conditions  genecologists  were  callec 
upon  to  treat.  When  a  low  natality  is  due  to  disease,  destruc 
tive  forces  are  at  work,  and  to  attribute  it  to  a  high  degree  o 
physical,  intellectual  and  moral  perfection  of  the  people  is  U 
cherish  false  hope  and  flatter  the  vanity  of  degenerates  blind  t< 
their  own  retrogression. 

A  large  army  of  men  and  women,  anxious  to  do  the  righ 
and  conscientious  in  marital  relations,  ask  a  solution  of  th( 
question,  is  it  right  to  raise  the  standard  of  living  at  the  ex- 
pense of  natality  ?  On  one  hand  stands  the  "  nemesis  of  in- 
temperance and  improvidence "  which  threatens  to  devour  al 
the  substance  of  the  parents  ;  and  on  the  other  hand  great  ster- 
ility and  a  diminished  natality  which  threaten  depopulatior 
and  degeneracy.  Mr.  Ward  says  :  "Just  as  every  one  is  his 
own  judge  of  how  much  he  shall  eat  and  drink,  of  what  com- 
modities he  wants  to  render  life  enjoyable,  so  every  one  should 
be  his  own  judge  of  how  large  a  family  he  desires,  and  should 
have  power  in  the  same  degree  to  leave  off  when  the  requisite 
number  is  reached."  But  the  trouble  is  that  most  men  have 
not  the  power  to  leave  off.     How  many  of  the  poorer  classes 


THE  THREE  CRISES.  86 

can  say  as  once  was  said,  "  C'est  le  seul  plaisir  que  nous  puis- 
sions  nous  passer."  A  miner  above  the  average  in  intelligence 
said  :  "  Abstinence  is  out  of  the  question  ;  among  most  men 
the  sexual  appetite  is  stronger  than  the  craving  for  food.''  The 
sentiments  which  prevailed  among  men  who  purchased  their 
wives  still  exist  among  many  in  the  lower  stratum  of  society. 
The  woman  is  something  for  their  use  for  which  they  paid  the 
price.  When  women,  raised  in  a  social  environment  which 
shatters  the  traditional  views  of  the  old  world  regarding  marital 
relations,  revolt  against  the  "  wife-by-purchase  ''  code  of  ethics 
and  resort  to  artificial  means  to  prevent  conception,  they  go  to 
the  drug  store  or  call  on  the  doctor  and  end  as  physical  wrecks. 
Population,  we  all  agree,  should  be  restricted.  Restriction  is 
most  needed  among  the  classes  where  increase  is  now  most 
rapid,  viz.,  the  shiftless  and  thriftless.  And  among  them  the  dis- 
ciples of  Neo-Malthusianism  will  preach  temperance  and  arti- 
ficial restriction  in  vain.  Artificial  restrictions  as  practiced 
among  the  working  classes  work  disastrously.  The  evils  fall 
upon  the  women.  The  physical  wrongs  they  suffer  are  many, 
but  the  moral  poison  instilled  into  the  genetic  source  of  the 
race  is  still  more  fatal.  The  question  of  natality  concerns  the 
women  more  than  the  men,  and  the  psychical  side  of  this  whole 
question  is  more  important  than  the  physical. 

The  progress  of  society  is  from  the  physical  to  the  psychical. 
The  pen  is  mightier  than  the  sword  in  modern  civilization,  and 
the  only  hope  of  society  is  in  increased  psychical  power  in  the 
individual.  Nature  has  evolved  a  high  type  of  organism  by 
the  law  of  selection  which  is  as  ruthless  as  it  is  mighty.  Men 
have  applied  artificial  selection  to  plants  and  animals  and  the 
results  are  gratifying.  Mr.  Ward  is  of  the  opinion  that  man 
can  only  claim  true  distinction  from  other  animals  when  he 
has  the  courage  to  apply  it  to  himself.  With  increased  indi- 
viduation as  the  goal  of  civilization  and  the  doctrine  of  laissez 
faire  so  vigorously  insisted  upon  in  this  relation  by  the  working 
classes,  how  can  artificial  selection  be  ever  exercised  in  human 
society  ?  Mr.  Wallace's  selection  of  females  capable  of  bearing 
children,  and  Dr.  Francis  Galton's  certificates  of  competency 


86  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

to  young  people  to  marry,  may  result  in  an  improved  type  c 
men  and  women,  but  what  of  the  teeming  throng  which,  whil 
experiments  are  being  made,  multiplies  so  rapidly  that  th 
selected  type  will  ever  be  in  danger  of  being  swamped  by  th 
mass?  Nature  has  her  own  way  to  effect  these  things  an< 
when  society  has  the  courage  to  follow  more  closely  her  way; 
in  natality,  many  of  the  evils  which  now  trouble  society  will  b( 
eliminated. 


OF  TW^ 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


SpecijMen  of  a  House  built  by  English-speaking  Miners. 
(The  poreli  only  was  built  by  a  carpenter.) 


Specimen  of  a  House  built  by  a  Sclav  Miner.     (Ruthenian.) 


CHAPTER   IV. 
DIFFERENT  WAYS  OF^  LIVING. 

How  Much  Does  It  C!ost  to  Furnish  a  House  ?  2.  What  do  Mine 
Workers  Speiih)  on  Clothes  ?  3.  The  Money  Spent  on  the  Table 
AND  ON  Amusements.  4.  The  Effect  of  a  Rising  Standard  of 
Living. 


How  Much  Does  it  CJost  to  Furnish  a  House? 

Adam  Smith  said  that  "  a  man  of  large  revenue,  whatever 
may  be  his  profession,  thinks  he  ought  to  live  like  other  men 
of  large  revenue  and  to  spend  a  great  part  of  his  time  in 
festivity,  in  vanity,  and  in  dissipation."  This  well  illustrates 
the  law  of  imitation  upon  which  Tarde  has  based  his  social 
philosophy.  There  are  many  instances  of  it  in  mining  towns. 
Mine  employees  to-day  build  better  homes  and  furnish  them 
more  elaborately  because  of  the  example  set  them  by  their 
neighbors.  This  desire  for  more  elaborate  houses  and  more 
costly  furniture  does  not  always  consult  integrity  and  honesty. 
A  street  in  one  of  our  towns,  largely  composed  of  low,  un- 
sightly and  uncommodious  houses,  is  now  graced  by  modern 
structures.  Before  the  majority  of  them  was  put  up,  however, 
fire  consumed  the  uncomely  homes  and  insurance  companies 
protected  themselves  by  cancelling  fire  insurance  policies  in 
that  neighborhood.  Better  furniture  is  bought  and  a  larger 
book  account  is  kept  by  the  furniture  dealer. 

A  large  number  of  good  dwellings  has  been  erected  in  min- 
ing towns  in  recent  years,  which  has  placed  at  the  command 
of  mine  employees  a  greater  variety  of  abodes.  The  standard 
of  living  of  the  various  nationalities  is  reflected  in  the  kind  of 
house  they  rent,  the  way  they  furnish  it  and  the  means  whereby 
it  is  heated.  As  a  rule,  the  Sclavs  rent  the  cheapest  houses, 
furnish  them  in  the  scantiest  manner  and  pay  very  little  for  the 

87 


88  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

fuel  consumed.  The  English-speaking  pay  the  higher  rents 
liberally  patronize  the  furniture,  hardware  and  crockery  stores 
and  pay  for  the  coal  used.  There  are  exceptions.  In  one  o 
the  mining  camps  of  Schuylkill  county,  we  found  an  English- 
speaking  family  tenanting  one  of  the  poorest  structures  in  th( 
patch.  There  were  five  in  the  family  that  occupied  this  frame 
building  of  two  rooms,  over  which  was  a  low  attic  lighted  bj 
a  12"xl6''  window.  The  roof  was  rotten  and  the  rain  and 
snow  came  in  freely.  There  was  no  plastering  on  the  sides  oi 
the  rooms,  and  the  wall  paper,  which  clung  to  the  walls  in 
defiance  of  successive  showers,  bore  upon  it  the  marks  of  many 
waters.  The  wife  said :  "  It's  a  horrible  place."  The  rent 
was  $2  a  month,  and  the  lord  of  this  miserable  abode  brought 
his  wife  and  little  ones  into  it  because  the  rent  was  "  cheap  " 
and  his  appetite  for  strong  drink  costly.  On  the  other  hand, 
some  of  the  most  commodious  houses  erected  by  mine  employees 
in  the  town  of  Nanticoke  were  put  up  by  the  Poles.  The 
Sclavs  do  not  in  all  instances  voluntarily  take  the  cheaper 
houses.  They  are  considered  socially  inferior  to  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  and  Germans,  and  where  there  is  a  variety  of  dwellings, 
the  first  choice  is  given  the  English-speaking,  and  what  remains 
goes  to  the  Sclavs.  In  a  mining  camp  in  the  Southern  coal 
fields,  a  dilapidated  and  ill-built  section  was  assigned  to  the 
"  foreigners,"  while  the  better  houses  were  occupied  by  Anglo- 
Saxons.  The  Sclavs  complained  bitterly  of  their  houses,  and 
they  had  just  reason  to  do  so.  They  said,  "  Me  pay  more  for 
good  house,"  and  most  of  them  would  gladly  move  to  better 
5  houses  were  they  available.  It  is  the  same  in  our  towns.  The 
most  dilapidated  sections  are  assigned  the  Sclav.  He  is  driven 
there  by  social  and  racial  discrimination,  and  it  is  only  when 
houses  are  vacant  and  no  "  white  tenants  "  can  be  secured,  that 
the  most  respectable  and  most  ambitious  Sclavs  are  able  to  move 
into  better  homes  and  be  surrounded  by  a  purer  and  healthier 
environment.  In  towns  where  opportunity  is  given  them  to 
buy  real  estate,  many  of  them  secure  homes  of  their  own,  which 
are  healthier  and  better  than  the  dwellings  found  in  the  leprous 
sections  of  mining  towns. 


DIFFERENT   WAYS   OF   LIVING.  89 

In  every  section  of  the  coal  fields  company  houses  are  found. 
These  vary  greatly.  The  ones  recently  built  by  some  of  the 
companies  are  fit  habitations  for  workingmeu.  Those  which 
were  built  in  the  early  years  of  mining,  however,  are  not  so. 
Many  of  them  are  miserable  shanties  unfit  for  human  beings 
to  live  in,  repulsive  to  all  sense  of  decency  and  unfavorable  to 
the  cultivation  of  domestic  virtues.  Of  the  number  and 
character  of  company  houses  throughout  the  coal  fields  we  shall 
speak  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

The  willingness  of  men  to  undergo  sacrifice  in  order  to  secure 
a  home  was  never  better  illustrated  than  in  these  mining  towns. 
This  tendency  of  thrifty  mine  employees  manifests  itself  in  all 
races.  In  the  first  half  century  of  mining,  a  large  number  of 
Anglo-Saxons  and  Germans  secured  homes  which  they  still 
tenant.  The  thrifty  Sclav  shows  the  same  tendency  and,  in  all 
towns  where  opportunity  is  given  the  workers  to  acquire  real 
estate,  these  people  in  large  numbers  either  buy  or  build  homes. 
In  Lackawanna  county,  a  number  of  English-speaking  miners 
working  only  half  time  resolved  to  build  their  own  homes.  In 
two  summers  they  put  up  six  houses.  The  material  in  each 
cost  about  $350.  They  were  substantial  five-roomed  houses, 
which  gave  ample  accommodations  and  good  shelter  to  the 
families.  They  bore  traces  of  crude  workmanship,  for  all  the 
masonry,  carpentering  and  plastering  were  done  by  them.  The 
houses,  however,  answered  the  purpose,  and  if  John  Ruskin 
were  a  witness  to  their  efforts  we  feel  confident  the  company 
would  be  admitted  into  his  St.  George  society.  We  have  seen 
Sclavs  do  the  same  thing,  but  with  greater  dispatch  and  a 
smaller  outlay.  A  young  married  Sclav  couple  resolved  to 
begin  life  in  a  house  of  their  own.  The  bridegroom  on  Satur- 
day morning  ordered  lumber,  etc.,  for  a  house.  All  the  material 
was  delivered  that  afternoon  and  laid  on  the  lot  he  had  pur- 
chased from  the  coal  company.  By  Sunday  night  a  house 
warming  was  given  the  young  couple  in  their  new  home  and  a 
keg  of  "  bock  "  was  drunk  on  the  occasion.  All  told,  the  two- 
roomed  house  represented  an  outlay  of  about  $125.  It  was  the 
home  of  a  sturdy  Sclav  couple  resolved  upon  making  the  best 


90  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

of  their  opportunity.  The  nien  who  believe  that  the  "m£ 
who  is  content  with  corn,  bacon,  and  a  one-roomed  cabin  hj 
no  place  in  the  modern  industrial  system,"  would  better  ket 
an  eye  on  these  people,  for  they  are  earnest  and  will  count  i 
the  quiet  conflict  waged  in  industrial  centers.  During  the  la; 
decade  these  men,  who  live  in  crude  structures,  are  the  om 
who  have  the  largest  deposits  in  the  banks.  Is  not  the  boas 
ful  and  pernicious  doctrine  that  "  a  cheap  coat  makes  a  chea 
man,"  working  mischief?  There  was  another  doctrine  in  vogi 
among  the  men  who  laid  down  the  foundation  of  government 
It  was  "  the  coat  does  not  make  the  man."  What  a  pictui 
Carlyle  gives  us  of  George  Fox  when  the  world  was  making 
"god  of  its  belly."  This  simple  shoemaker,  making  himself 
suit  of  leather,  is  ridiculed  by  the  6lite  who  lived  in  gran 
houses  and  considered  "  the  Belly  and  its  adjuncts  the  gran 
Reality,"  but  he,  the  man  with  a  spirit  in  him,  leaves  his  mar 
upon  the  world.  Our  State  of  Pennsylvania,  before  it  fell  int 
the  hands  of  men  who  believe  "a  cheap  coat  makes  a  chea 
man,"  was  a  monument  to  the  social  worth  of  the  man  clothe 
in  that  suit  of  leather.  Men  ridicule  the  houses  in  which  Sclav 
live,  but  these  men  are  resolute  and  frugal,  and,  if  signs  deceiv 
not,  the  man  in  the  two-roomed  cabin  will  come  out  first  in  th 
economic  contest  now  being  waged  in  these  coal  fields. 
f  On  the  Hazleton  mountains  one  of  the  companies  rente* 
houses  for  $7  a  month.  English-speaking  people  paid  thai 
The  Sclav  would  not.  Two  families  of  these  immigrants  tak 
the  house,  divide  it  as  best  they  may,  and  each  pays  $3.50  ; 
month.  In  the  same  region  we  found  a  three-roomed  house  — 
each  room  measured  about  12  by  13  feet,  where  a  husband  am 
wife,  two  children,  and  10  boarders  lived ;  14  souls  in  all :  4.( 
persons  to  a  room.  The  party  lived  a  communal  life.  Th 
woman  did  the  purchasing  for  the  company  and,  at  the  close  o 
each  month,  each  paid  his  pro  rata  share  of  the  total  bill.  Ii 
another  house  of  four  rooms,  not  one  of  which  was  more  thai 
13  feet  square,  there  were  14  boarders.  When  the  "boarding 
boss"  was  asked  how  they  all  managed  to  get  sleeping  room 
he  replied  that  some  of  the  men  were  working  night,  so  tha 


DIFFERENT   WAYS   OF   LIVING.  91 

these  could  occupy  the  beds  vacated  by  the  "  day  men."  Id 
a  miniDg  patch  wholly  occupied  by  Sclavs,  where  there  was 
great  crowding,  we  asked  the  men  how  they  managed  in  sum- 
mer? They  said  they  slept  out  in  the  open  air.  Of  course, 
there  were  foes  without  —  mosquitoes  —  but  these  were  not  so 
troublesome  or  numerous  as  the  foes  within.  A  Sclav  who 
slept  out  in  summer  time,  made  his  bed  on  the  roof  of  the 
house.  His  repose  was  not  sweet :  he  rolled  off  his  couch  and 
fell  on  the  edge  of  a  picket  fence  and  fractured  three  of  his  ribs. 

Instances  of  Sclavs  crowding  into  small  houses  are  not  so 
numerous  at  present  as  ten  years  ago.  Of  153  families  in  a 
mining  town.  111  or  72.61  per  cent,  had  no  boarders.  The 
remaining  42  families  had  from  1  to  7  boarders.  More  houses 
are  now  placed  at  their  disposal.  But,  to-day,  many  Sclav 
families  are  anxious  to  get  a  few  boarders  for  it  reduces  the  item 
of  rent. 

The  Anglo-Saxons  as  a  rule  stand  in  striking  contrast  with 
this.  They  want  no  boarders  and  wish  to  preserve  the  hearth 
sacred  for  family  use.  If  they  pay  rent  it  is  from  $5  to  $9  a 
month  ;  which  is  a  hundred  per  cent,  higher  than  the  sum  paid 
by  Sclavs.  The  thrifty  English-speaking  miners,  who  have 
lived  here  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  have  houses  of 
their  own,  which  are,  from  a  workingman's  standpoint,  com- 
modious. Houses  rented  to  Anglo-Saxons  are  subject  to  the 
universal  law  of  supply  and  demand.  Mine  employees  cannot 
pay  more  than  from  $7  to  $9  a  month  rent,  and  the  best  kind 
of  a  house  an  investor  can  build  for  them  must  not  exceed  an 
outlay  of  from  $1,000  to  $1,300.  Houses  built  on  this  scale 
contain  from  6  to  8  rooms  and  in  them  the  descendants  of  the 
earlier  settlers  from  Great  Britain  and  Germany  live.  These 
native  born  mine  employees,  starting  domestic  life  by  paying  $7 
a  month  rent,  find  that  an  income  of  between  $400  and  $500 
a  year  makes  ijjmpossible  for  them  to  save  the  means  to  pur- 
chase a  home^f  their  own.  Hence  in  recent  years,  a  far 
greater  number  of  Sclavs  than  Anglo-Saxons  builds  houses  and, 
because  of  this,  the  "  foreigners  "  take  a  firmer  hold  of  the  soil 
than  the  native  bom. 


92  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

As  a  rule,  it  may  be  said  that  in  mining  patches  as  well 
in  mining  towns,  the  Sclavs  pay  from   $2.50  to   $5   a  mon 
rent,  while  the  Anglo-Saxons  pay  from  $4.50  to  $9.     Hen( 
in  the  matter  of  house  rent,  the  cost  of  living  to  the  Englis 
speaking  is  a  hundred  per  cent,  higher  than  to  the  "  foreigners 

When  we  come  to  the  item  of  house  furnishing  the  contrs 
is  still  greater.  The  native  born  youth,  when  he  starts  li 
with  the  lady  of  his  choice,  rents  a  house  of  six  rooms  ai 
spends  on  an  average  $25  a  room  in  furnishing  it.  Sometime 
a  young  couple  will  be  satisfied  with  four  rooms  for  $5 
month,  but  never  will  they  begin  life  below  that  level.  Tl 
class  then  spends  in  furnishing  a  home  from  $100  to  $15< 
very  rarely  will  the  bill  reach  the  $200  mark. 

The  young  Sclav,  if  he  rents  four  rooms  to  begin  life  in,  e 
pects  to  take  boarders.  Many  of  them  begin  in  two  roon 
The  average  amount  which  he  spends  on  each  room  is  abo 
$12  and,  in  many  instances,  the  whole  bill  does  not  exce< 
$35  ;  if  it  goes  up  to  $50  it  reaches  the  maximum. 

A  comparison  of  both  homes  reveals  the  difference.  In  tl 
houses  of  "  white  people  "  the  front  room  is  carpeted  and  cor 
fortably  furnished.  Here  they  entertain  their  friends.  In  t 
next  room,  which  is  generally  large  and  serving  as  a  kitch( 
and  dining  room,  the  floor  is  covered  with  rag-carpet  and 
large  strip  of  oil-cloth  or  linoleum  under  the  stove.  The  coo 
ing  stove  and  all  cooking  utensils  are  new  —  nothing  else  w 
do  for  "young  America."  A  plentiful  supply  of  crockery, 
dining  room  table  and  half  a  dozen  chairs,  give  the  room 
comfortable  appearance.  The  stairs  leading  to  the  second  sto: 
are  generally  carpeted.  The  front  bedroom  is  carpeted  ai 
furnished  with  a  bedroom  suite  of  "  eight  pieces."  One  oth 
bedroom  will  generally  contain  a  bed,  so  that  the  family  mi 
entertain  a  friend  in  case  of  need.  The  third  bedroom  — 
small  room  generally  —  is  used  for  storage.  Add  a  heatii 
stove,  and  a  home,  where  the  average  native  born  young  peop 
of  raining  communities  begin  life,  is  complete. 

The  Sclav  discards  carpet  and  oilcloth.  None  of  it  is  sec 
in  the  majority  of  houses.     If  a  few  strips  of  rag  carpet  a 


DIFFERENT   WAYS   OF   LIVING.  93 

used,  it  is  a  sign  of  an  advance  above  the  ordinary  racial 
standard  of  living.  The  cooking  stove  is  generally  bought  at 
a  junk  shop.  The  cooking  utensils  are  few  and  tinware  often 
serves  as  a  substitute  for  crockery.  A  common  kitchen  table 
and  chairs  to  match  complete  the  furnishings  on  the  first  floor, 
if  made  up  of  one  room.  If  there  are  two  rooms,  then  the 
front  room  has  one  or  two  beds  in  it ;  no  carpet  and  no  bed- 
room suite  of  "  eight  pieces."  When  shown  one  of  these  rooms, 
we  had  to  sit  on  the  trunk  of  one  of  the  boarders,  for  there  were 
no  chairs  there.  The  room  or  rooms  on  the  second  floor  have 
beds  in  them  and  a  few  trunks.  If  a  heating  stove  is  pur- 
chased, it  is  the  old-fashioned  bell-shaped  kind,  bought  second- 
hand, which  is  a  good  heater,  and  the  practical  Sclav  wants 
heat  and  not  nickel-plate  and  polish.  All  here  are  articles  of  \ 
necessity,  not  a  trace  of  luxury  seen  anywhere.  Of  course 
there  are  exceptions.  German  Poles,  who  have  been  in  the 
country  for  twenty  or  thirty  years,  live  differently.  We  de- 
scribe the  home  of  the  average  Sclav  which  may  be  found  in 
every  town  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields. 

This  diff*erence  has  an  important  effect  upon  the  economic 
life  of  these  two  classes  in  our  towns  and  villages.  "  Young 
America,"  with  his  comfortable  home,  almost  invariably  starts 
life  with  a  debt ;  the  Sclav,  with  bare  necessities,  starts  free  of 
debt.  These  are  a  few  examples  of  the  former  class  from  the 
books  of  a  furniture  dealer :  Bill,  $104.85,  paid  $20 ;  bill  $105, 
paid  $18;  bill  $100,  paid  $20;  bill  $160,  paid  $45.  The 
balance  they  agree  to  pay  in  monthly  installments.  The 
following  was  an  exception  :  Bill  $178.25,  paid  $150, 

The  Sclav  does  business  very  differently.  His  bill  seldom  \ 
reaches  $50,  but  he  pays  it.  The  rule  among  them  is  never  to  | 
start  married  life  with  a  debt.  The  diff*erence  soon  tells.  The 
English-speaking  is  handicapped  by  that  debt.  Before  it  is 
paid  a  child  comes  into  the  home.  This  extra  expense,  eating 
into  meagre  earnings,  still  further  intensifies  the  struggle,  and 
the  result  is  that  the  family  lives  from  hand  to  mouth  and 
finds  it  necessary,  in  crude  ways,  to  practice  the  doctrine  of 
Neo-Malthusianism.     The  Sclav,  on  the  other  hand,  free  of 


94  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

debt,  soon  buys  a  lot,  puts  up  a  simple  house,  and  under  thj 
roof,  where  plenty  of  coarse  food  is  found,  Neo-Malthusianisi 
has  no  place.  Children  are  born  in  rapid  succession  am 
though  their  manner  of  living  may  be  repugnant  to  our  taste 
yet  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  they  live  close  to  nature. 

Which  of  these  two  classes  begins  life  the  better?  Whic 
is  the  better  way,  to  raise  the  standard  of  living  and  mortgag 
the  future  years  of  the  wage  earner,  or  apply  the  principle 
of  common  prudence  and  honesty  and  regulate  one's  life  accorc 
ing  to  his  prospective  income  ?  The  craving  for  elegant  house 
and  elaborate  furnishings  disturbs  the  peace  of  these  wag 
earners,  troubles  the  domestic  felicity  and  destroys  the  purit 
of  many  homes.  When  Thomas  a  Becket  strewed  the  floor  c 
his  hall  with  clean  hay  or  rushes  in  order  that  the  knights  an* 
squires  who  could  not  get  seats  might  sit  on  the  floor  to  ea 
their  dinner,  were  they  less  valiant  fighters  in  defense  of  thei 
lord  because  of  that  ?  When  the  old  tavern  keeper  at  Dun 
fermline  slept  in  the  marriage  bed  of  James  I.,  King  of  Eng 
land,  did  he  sell  better  ale  and  serve  better  dinners  because  o 
that?  The  social  worth  of  man  is  the  question.  Here  w< 
have  an  industry  which  requires  hard  muscle  and  strong  brawn 
and  the  man  who  sleeps  free  of  debt  on  a  simple  bed  and  eat; 
coarse  food  out  of  a  tin  plate,  may  have  greater  social  worth  ii 
the  mining  industry  than  the  man  who  sleeps  in  a  bedroon 
with  "  eight  pieces,^'  eats  his  food  off  imported  chinaware,  anc 
has  a  debt  and  a  heartache. 

Turn  now  to  the  fire  in  the  house.  In  savage  times  it  wa.' 
the  woman's  task  to  care  for  the  fire,  and  she  did  it.  Th( 
Sclav  women  do  it.  We  have  seen  native  born  girls  in  these 
mining  towns  assuming  the  charge  of  a  home,  who  could  not 
keep  fire  in  the  stove.  The  "  foreign  "  women  get  the  fuel  and 
keep  the  fire.  They  go  barefooted  to  the  culm  heaps  and 
glean,  and,  staggering  under  their  burdens,  they  keep  the  coal 
bin  full  so  that  nothing  is  taken  from  the  husband's  wages  for 
fuel.  Around  the  breakers,  on  railroads,  or  wherever  new 
buildings  are  erected,  the  children  of  the  "  foreigners  "  are  seen, 
gathering  fuel  and  tugging  it  home  with  a  tenacity  that  is  ad- 


DIFFERENT   WAYS   OF   LIVING.  95 

mirable.  Some  of  these  women  wield  the  ax  with  a  dexterity  / 
and  strength  that  would  put  fifty  per  cent,  of  our  men  to  shame./ 
The  English-speaking  buy  their  supply  of  coal.  It  costs  them 
from  $30  to  $35  a  year.  Many  Sclavs  do  not  spend  $5  a  year 
on  coal.  In  the  due-bills  of  Anglo-Saxons  the  item  of  coal  comes 
in  with  great  regularity ;  in  the  Sclavs'  due-bills  it  is  rarely 
met  with.  Some  of  the  coal  companies  prohibit  these  people 
from  gleaning  on  the  culm  banks,  but  it  is  hard  to  stop  them. 
In  summer  time  many  of  these  women  are  up  before  dawn,  and, 
ere  the  foreman  appears,  their  load  of  fuel  is  safely  stowed  away 
in  the  coal-bin.  Sometimes  they  are  "  pulled  "  by  the  police  or 
detectives.  Nevertheless  the  practice  continues.  Some  of  the 
coal  companies  have  considerable  trouble  in  keeping  their  coal 
cars  intact  on  their  way  to  market.  The  policemen  of  the 
Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company  are  kept  busy  at  Kohonor 
Junction  watching  the  coal  cars,  and  one  of  them  said :  "  These 
Poles  are  born  thieves.''  There  are  others  besides  "  foreigners  " 
guilty  of  stealing  prepared  coal.  A  foreman  said  of  an  English- 
speaking  family,  living  in  close  proximity  to  the  shaft  in  his 
charge,  that  during  the  last  ten  years  they  had  not  paid  a  cent 
for  coal.  They  did  not  glean  it  from  the  bank.  They  took  it 
from  the  pockets  in  the  breaker.  One  of  the  workers  in  that 
home  was  very  zealous  about  the  weighing  of  the  coal,  and  ex- 
plained how  the  poor  miner  is  robbed.  Many  men  in  the  Mid- 
dle and  Southern  coal  fields  are  guilty  of  "  robbing  the  breaches," 
or  taking  coal  from  the  out-crops.  These,  when  caught,  are 
punished. 

Thus  in  the  items  of  house,  furniture  and  fire  the  Sclav  on 
an  average  spends  less  than  half  of  what  the  Anglo-Saxon  and 
Germans  spend.  . * 

What  do  Mine  Workers  Spend  on  Clothes? 

Carlyle  said  that  the  dandy  asks  for  one  thing  only  —  "  the 
glance  of  your  eyes."  These  dandies  have  always  been  in  the 
world,  and  their  vanity  has  been  an  important  factor  in  civiliza- 
tion. The  first  steps  in  clothing  were  taken  in  dandyism,  and 
the  motive  power  was  egoism  before  man  knew  that  he  had 


96  ANTHKACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

an  ego.  To-day,  woman  is  more  given  to  the  art  of  exhibiti 
clothes  and  adornments  than  man,  but  Lippert  assures  us  tl: 
it  was  not  so  in  the  early  history  of  our  race.  He  says  :  "  Uni 
den  emfachsten  Verhaltnissen  der  Naturvolker  fallt  nur  < 
geringer  Anteil  am  Schmuck  auf  die  Frau ;  es  ist  der  Mai 
der  sich  am  reichsten  und  auffalligsten  schmuckt.^'  The  ma 
leading  a  more  active  and  energetic  life,  sought  distincti( 
Decorations  offered  him  the  most  feasible  way  to  gratify  1 
vanity  and  herald  his  deeds  of  heroism.  Hence,  when  i 
savage  went  to  war  or  sat  in  council,  he  carefully  selected  ] 
adornments.  Indeed,  how  many  men  are  there  at  the  pres( 
stage  of  the  world's  progress  wholly  exempt  of  this  weakneg 
A  modern  philosopher  said  that  all  men  are  equal  if  stripped 
their  garments,  and  the  consciousness  of  that  makes  most  of 
hang  on  to  our  paraphernalia.  The  aim  of  civilization  is  i 
creased  individuality  which  is  attained  by  the  development 
the  psychical  elements  in  man.  All  savages  are  pretty  mu 
alike,  but  a  Goethe,  or  a  Darwin  or  an  Agassiz  is  marked  by 
individuality  which  makes  him  unique  among  the  millions  of  J 
contemporaries.  The  men  who  possess  greatest  individual- 
are  furthest  removed  from  the  savage  whose  chief  aim  was  € 
ternal  adornment.  Civilization  has  not  gone  very  far  yet,  i 
much  of  this  primitive  custom  is  still  in  the  world.  It  is  se 
in  the  arrangement  of  the  hair,  tattooing,  conspicuous  and  che 
jewelry,  so  common  among  the  working  classes,  as  well  as 
the  colors  and  feathers  displayed  by  lodges  when  parading  t 
streets  of  a  mining  town. 

Civilization,  however,  is  gradually  changing  this.  Wom 
now  pays  more  attention  to  dress  than  man,  and  adorns  hers< 
with  glittering  jewels  or  strass.  This  was  well  illustrated  1 
a  Sclav  who  said  :  "  Me  pay  for  frau  hat  $5,  me  hat  60  cent^ 
The  man  said  it  with  a  gusto  that  resembled  the  air  of  t 
American  who  says  that  his  wife  is  the  "  best  dressed  wom: 
in  town.'' 

All  nations  vary  in  their  costumes  and  among  all  of  tht 
dandyism  is  found.  The  Fuegian  who  chooses  beads  ai 
glittering  trinkets  when  naked  in  an  arctic  climate,  is  no  d; 


DIFFERENT   WAYS   OF    LIVING.  97 

ferent  from  the  men  and  women  in  these  coal  fields,  who  go 
short  of  the  necessaries  of  life  in  order  that  they  may  spend 
more  money  on  trinkets  and  baubles.  Parsimony  is  never  ex- 
ercised by  them.  All  they  care  for  is  to  live  in  a  vain  show 
by  following  the  fashion  and  wasting  their  substance  in  cheap 
dresses  and  paste  jewelry.  They  live  from  hand  to  mouth, 
and,  in  hard  times,  fall  into  vice  or  ask  for  relief.  Their 
wages  are  spent  for  articles  of  no  social  or  individual  utility, 
and  they  at  length  fall  into  hopeless  servitude  and  poverty. 
The  practical  Sclav  will  not,  as  the  Anglo-Saxon,  waste  his 
earnings  in  useless  vanities. 

The  change  in  the  standard  of  living  is  reflected  in  clothing 
as  in  every  other  sphere  of  human  life.  Lippert  tells  us  that 
the  inferior  copied  the  superior  in  ancient  society  and  the  same 
practice  is  seen  in  the  life  of  to-day.  The  improvements  in 
the  arts  are  such  that  the  wife  and  daughter  of  the  wage  earner 
can  purchase  a  dress  at  very  moderate  cost  now-a-days  which, 
a  century  ago,  could  only' be  secured  by  the  rich.  Conse- 
quently, it  is  nothing  unusual  to  find  the  daughters  of  mine 
employees  wearing  articles  of  apparel  which,  even  under  our 
improved  system  of  production,  are  expensive  and  absorb  a 
larger  portion  of  the  wages  than  the  workmen  can  well  afford. 
The  girls  are  able  to  get  them  because  of  the  parents'  sacrifice 
and  indulgence.  Imitation  of  the  rich  is  not  only  confined  to 
the  material  of  which  their  dresses  are  made  but  also  in  the 
multitude  and  variety  of  their  dresses.  The  daughters  of 
workingmen  have  a  wardrobe  to  exhibit,  and  the  craze  for 
variety  in  dress  among  female  descendants  of  Anglo-Saxons  in 
mining  towns  is  so  great  that  the  Sabbath  day  is  more  a  dress- 
day  than  a  holy-day.  Does  this  rage  after  fashion  promote  the 
moral  well  being  of  women  ?  Have  these  daughters,  with  full 
wardrobes,  greater  social  worth  than  their  mothers  ?  Lippert 
says  that  when  the  more  elaborate  costumes  of  the  Bomans 
were  introduced  among  the  Germans,  greater  laxity  in  morals 
accompanied  the  innovation.  The  German  women  whom  Taci- 
tus saw  *'  with  paps  visible ''  lost  their  purity  when  they  were 
clothed  in  more  costly  garments.  This  craving  for  many  and 
8 


98  ANTHRACITE    COAL   COMMtJNITIES.  * 

varied  dresses  among  the  daughters  of  workingmen  is  fatal  i 
social  progress.  It  devours  the  wages  of  the  men,  condemi 
many  women  to  single  life,  and  leads  to  sterility  after  marriag 
The  gown  and  the  hat  bring  domestic  infelicity  into  the  hom< 
of  men  who  are  anxious  to  pay  their  bills  and  lead  an  honei 
life.  History  teaches  us  that  the  true  progress  of  society 
not  secured  by  appropriating  the  glitter  and  luxury  of  civilizj 
tion.  Unless  wages  are  wisely  used  and  the  needs  of  societ 
as  a  whole  are  considered,  social  progress  will  not  be  securec 
This  fact  must  be  especially  remembered  by  the  wage  earner 
and  it  needs  emphasis  in  society  in  general,  for  we  lose  sight  ( 
the  old  maxim  that  "  life  is  more  than  meat  and  the  body  tha 
raiment.'' 

The  Sclav  women  who  come  to  these  coal  fields  are  suscej 
tible  to  the  influence  of  fashion.  When  they  first  come  the: 
heads  are  covered  with  silk  scarfs  of  many  colors.  If  she  is 
matron,  who  has  passed  the  meridian  of  life,  she  will  contini 
to  wear  the  scarf;  but  if  younger,  and  her  pride  in  bodil 
charms  is  still  strong,  the  bright-colored  scarf  is  discarde 
within  six  months  and  a  hat  donned  having  a  profusion  c 
bright  flowers  which  makes  it  ludicrous.  The  corset  is  als 
assumed,  the  silk  waist  put  on,  and  a  gown  of  modern  fashio 
purchased.  These  articles  of  a  higher  civilization  ill  becom 
the  Sclav  woman,  whose  youth  was  spent  in  farm  labor,  au' 
whose  form  stands  in  striking  contrast  with  the  pinched  waist 
and  tight-laced  figures  of  our  women.  The  daughters  of  thes 
Sclav  mothers,  however,  wear  these  articles  with  grace  equal  t 
that  of  the  daughters  of  mine  employees  of  other  nationalities 
The  figure  of  these  young  blondes  differs  widely  from  that  c 
their  mothers.  They  are  not  so  angular  ;  the  type,  accordin 
to  the  standard  of  Ranke,  has  been  improved.  The  Scla 
daughters  come  in  contact  with  young  people  of  other  natior 
alities  in  the  schools  and  in  the  social  life  and  are  reared  in  a 
environment  wholly  different  from  that  of  their  parents.  Th 
effect  is  apparent  in  a  more  graceful  form,  a  better  taste  i 
dress,  and  a  larger  expenditure  of  money  in  clothing,  i 
Pole,  in  Lackawanna  county,  surprised  a  furniture  dealer  i 


DIFFERENT   WAYS   OF    LIVING.  99 

the  fall  of  1901  by  purchasing  a  $100  parlor  suit  and  pay- 
ing cash  for  it.  The  reason  was  that  he  had  three  grace- 
ful daughters  in  the  home  coming  to  womanhood  —  all  native 
born. 

When  the  Sclav  woman  buys  a  gown  or  a  hat  the  husband 
invariably  accompanies  her  and  his  taste  decides  the  purchase. 
Many  of  these  men  are  indulgent,  and  the  custom  of  giving 
surprises  to  wives,  so  prevalent  among  us,  is  copied  by  them. 
Last  Christmas,  one  of  these  men  bought  a  silk  gown  to  sur- 
prise his  wife.  It  was  a  great  surprise  to  the  storekeeper,  for  the 
women  among  these  men  are  not  recipients  of  petty  favors  and 
delicacies  such  as  are  bestowed  by  indulgent  native  born  husbands 
on  their  helpmeets.  The  male  Sclav  is  lord  of  his  house. 
There  are  exceptions.  Last  summer,  while  in  an  ofi&ce  of  a 
justice  of  the  peace,  a  Sclav  was  brought  in  by  the  constable 
charged  with  attempt  to  defraud.  He  was  passive  as  many  of 
them  are.  But  suddenly  his  wife  came  on  the  scene  and  imme- 
diately the  affair  became  dramatic.  She  argued  with  such  vim 
and  turned  from  constable  to  creditor  and  again  to  the  justice 
of  the  peace  with  dramatic  action  worthy  of  a  Terry  or  a  Sid- 
dons.  She  saved  two  dollars  in  costs.  When  the  storm  was 
past,  the  constable  said  :  "  She's  a  holy  terror.''  "  Yes,"  added 
the  justice  of  the  peace, "  two  years  ago  she  killed  her  husband 
by  throwing  the  boiling  contents  of  a  coffee  pot  into  his  face, 
and  six  months  after  that  sheep-head  of  a  man  married  her." 
Evidently  that  man  lived  under  muliocracy. 

The  Sclav  woman,  like  her  Anglo-Saxon  sister,  dresses  for 
display.  Rivalry  prevails  among  them  as  among  others.  The 
hat  covered  with  bright-colored  flowers  and  the  silk  waist  are 
worn  on  Sunday  to  church.  An  hour  spent  in  watching  these 
women  as  they  come  and  go  to  their  devotions  is  enough  to 
show  how  vanity  dominates  their  lives  as  it  does  the  6lite. 
Human  nature  is  the  same  everywhere. 

As  soon  as  the  Sclav  woman  crosses  the  threshold  of  her 
home  the  penurious  habits  of  her  ancestors  take  hold  of  her. 
The  hat,  waist  and  gown  are  safely  stowed  away,  and  the  daily 
garb,  scanty  and  unclean  and  torn,  is  put  on.     The  shoes  are 


100  ANTHRACITE    COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

cast  off  and  barefooted  she  goes  about  her  household  duties.' 
Lippert  says  that  many  tribes  cover  themselves  when  they  g( 
out  but  in  the  homes  they  are  naked.  We  have  seen  Scla> 
women  in  mining  patches,  whose  scanty  clothing  resemblec 
more  the  German  females  whom  Tacitus  saw,  than  women  o 
modern  civilization.  Never  do  they  wear  shoes  in  the  home 
In  this  they  are  not  alone.  The  discomfort  of  modern  ready- 
made  shoes  is  such  that  most  people  do  as  the  Roman.' 
did — remove  them  when  they  entered  the  house.  How- 
ever, very  few  of  the  English-speaking  women  are  found  ir 
their  home  without  hose  or  slippers.  The  majority  of  the 
Sclavs  go  barefooted.  Even  in  winter,  when  ice  and  sno^ 
cover  the  ground,  it  is  nothing  unusual  to  see  these  women 
stepping  from  the  house  barefooted  to  get  water  or  fuel. 
Krauss  says  this  is  among  them  a  practice  to  guard  against 
colds.  They  go  to  the  culm  dump  the  very  same,  and  some  ol 
them,  though  this  custom  fast  dies  away,  go  to  church  bare- 
footed. In  the  home  the  Sclav  woman  attempts  no  decoration. 
There  no  bright  ribbons,  no  fancy  work,  no  cushions  of  unique 
design,  no  lace  curtains,  few  shades,  etc.,  are  seen  —  objects  in 
which  the  daughters  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  take  so  much  pride. 
These  women,  who  have  to  carry  coal  and  chop  wood,  attend 
to  the  household  duties  and  wash  the  backs  of  four  or  six  men 
every  day,  have  no  time  to  spare  for  fancy  work,  providing 
they  had  the  taste  for  it.  Their  life  is  too  intense  for  that  and 
fancy  work  costs  money.  That  is  a  pastime  of  the  disciples 
of  Neo-Malthusianism  who  have  multiplicity  of  wants.  The 
children  of  these  Sclavs  in  summer  time  wear  very  little  cloth- 
ing. It  is  nothing  unusual  to  see  them  playing  in  the  streets 
stark  naked.  Generally,  however,  they  are  covered  with  a 
calico  dress  and  are  not  kept  in  the  house  or  in  the  fenced  yard 
in  a  clean  white  frock,  and  the  mother  ever  shouting,  "  Keep 
from  that  dirt."  They  play  and  tumble  in  the  dirt  and  they 
are  the  healthier  and  better  to  meet  the  hard  work  which  awaits 

*  Adam  Smith  spoke  as  follows  of  Scotch  women  in  his  day  :  '*  In  Scotland, 
custom  has  rendered  them  [leather  shoes]  a  necessary  of  life  to  the  lowest 
order  of  men,  but  not  to  the  same  order  of  women,  who  may  without  any  dis- 
credit walk  about  barefooted." 


DIFFERENT   WAYS    OF   LIVING.  101 

them.    It  costs  more  to  clothe  them  in  winter,  but  even  then 
they  are  more  scantily  clad  than  the  children  of  Anglo-Saxons. 

In  striking  contrast  with  all  this  stand  the  wife  and  chil-  \ 
dren  of  English-speaking  people  in  these  coal  fields.  The 
children  may  go  for  two  months  in  summer  bare  footed,  but 
50  per  cent,  of  them  are  not  allowed  to  do  that.  All  of  them 
wear  shoes  for  ten  months  of  the  year  and  generally  it  means 
ten  pairs  of  shoes  for  each  child  annually.  In  the  summer, 
they  are  lightly  clad  and  have  from  four  to  six  white  dresses 
and  garments  that  are  easily  soiled ;  they  are  summer  clothing. 
For  winter  they  have  a  different  supply  made  of  heavier 
goods.  As  the  children  grow,  the  custom  of  two  sets  of 
clothing  to  suit  the  season  of  the  year  is  kept  up.  The  wives 
of  native  born  young  husbands  have  one  or  two  new  dresses 
in  a  year  and  two  new  hats.  Their  mothers  were  glad  to 
get  one  dress  in  two  or  three  years,  and  their  hats  or  bonnets 
were  often  trimmed  for  "just  one  more  season."  "Young 
America,"  under  the  stress  of  the  rising  standard  of  living 
preached  to  them  daily  in  the  woman's  page  of  the  penny 
newspaper,  feels  that  the  changing  seasons  must  be  observed 
by  a  change  of  dress  and  the  tendency  is  continually  to  increase 
the  annual  expenditure  for  clothing. 

It  is  impossible  to  give  accurate  statistics  as  to  the  money 
spent  by  the  women  of  the  various  classes  in  dress.  It  varies 
in  every  home.  Among  the  Sclavs,  the  women  would  hardly 
spend  $25  annually  in  clothing.  Among  the  lower  class  of 
English-speaking  peoples  the  females  would  spend  about  the 
same  sum.  Rising  to  the  class  above  this,  a  dressmaker  of 
many  years'  experience  said,  the  average  woman  would  spend 
annually  from  $50  to  $60  in  dresses.  There  is  a  class  still 
above  this,  which  would  spend  annually  from  $100  to  $150  in 
apparel. 

The  variation  in  the  expenditure  for  clothing  is  not  so  great 
among  the  males  of  these  coal  fields  as  it  is  among  the  females. 
There  is  a  variation,  however.  A  clothier  in  Schuylkill  county 
said :  "  These  foreigners  are  peculiar.  The  Hun  wants  a  suit 
for  $5.     The  Pole  will  rise  to  $10.     The  Lett  will  pay  $15 


^ 


102  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

and  wants  a  Prince  Albert  coat."  The  difference  is  also  see 
in  the  shoe-store.  The  Hun  will  bring  a  dollar  for  a  pair  o 
shoes  and  no  more  will  he  pay.  Comfort  and  elegance  ai 
secondary  considerations.  The  first  thought  is  the  pric< 
Many  of  these  people  have  no  hose  ;  all  they  have  is  a  piece  ( 
cloth  or  linen  wound  around  the  foot  and  leg.  This,  ethnolc 
gists  tell  us,  was  the  practice  among  nations  when  first  the 
found  it  necessary  to  protect  the  arms  and  legs  against  th 
rigor  of  a  northern  climate.  Romans  found  it  necessary  to  d 
so  when  they  carried  their  campaigns  against  the  peoples  c 
the  north.  That  was  the  fashion  before  the  sleeve  and  th 
hose  were  invented.  The  first  pair  of  stockings  worn  i 
England  was  by  Queen  Bess  in  the  sixteenth  century  anc 
then,  they  were  thought  a  present  worthy  of  royalty  au' 
proffered  by  the  Spanish  ambassador.  Stockings  and  sleeves 
as  well  as  linen  and  woolen  clothing  are,  comparatively  speak 
ing,  of  modern  invention,  and  among  the  Sclavs  customs  o 
antiquity  are  better  preserved  than  among  more  civilize* 
people.  That  is  the  case  with  the  linen  strip  which  serves  fo 
hose  for  the  Pole  or  the  Hun.  The  Sclav  as  a  rule  will  not  pa; 
more  than  a  dollar  for  a  hat,  while  most  of  them  can  do  ver; 
well  without  collar  and  tie,  w^hite  shirt  and  an  overcoat.  O 
course,  there  are  exceptions.  Some  of  the  young  men  of  thes 
nationalities  dress  as  well  as  mine  employees  of  other  nations 

The  Anglo-Saxons  pay  for  a  suit  of  clothes  from  $15  to  $25 
Many  of  them  wear  tailor-made  suits.  They  never  go  withou 
collar  and  tie,  cuffs  and  white  shirt,  studs,  buttons,  a  goh 
watch  and  chain,  and  often  a  gold  ring.  They  pay  for  thei 
shoes  from  $2  to  $3  and  about  the  same  for  their  hats.  The; 
never  patronize  a  second-hand  clothing  store  as  do  many  of  th 
Sclavs,  and  in  cold  weather  each  has  a  comfortable  overcoat 
and  many  of  them  have  two,  one  for  fall  and  spring  and  th 
other  for  winter. 

The  use  these  people  get  out  of  their  garments  varies  greatly 
The  Sclav  seldom  parts  with  his  coat  or  hat  as  long  as  th< 
article  holds  together.  It  may  fade  and  become  threadbare 
but  it  is  not  discarded.     Some  of  the  old  Germans  and  Anglo 


DIFFERENT    WAYS    OF    LIVING.  108 

Saxons  show  the  same  tendency,  but  not  so  "  young  America. '* 
In  his  case,  the  coat  that  is  faded  and  threadbare  is  cast  away. 
The  hat  which  served  last  year  is  not  worn  this.  The  changed 
style  in  collar  and  tie  catches  his  eye  and  his  purse.  He  has  his 
circle  of  acquaintances  and  he  must  keep  up  with  the  fashion  as 
does  his  wife  —  if  he  can  afford  to  marry.  Hence,  whereas  the 
Sclav  would  buy  one  suit  in  two  or  three  years,  the  native  born 
buys  one  every  year,  and  his  supply  of  linen  and  underwear  is 
an  item  of  expense  which  little  troubles  the  Sclav.  Here  again 
we  cannot  give  accurate  statistics.  But  the  average  young 
man  of  native  birth,  married  or  single,  would  spend  from  $40  to 
$50  annually  in  clothing  ;  the  Sclav  would  not  spend  one  half 
that. 

A  banker  in  a  mining  town  said  lately  :  "  The  only  people 
who  save  money  to-day  in  the  coal  fields  are  the  foreigners." 
The  reason  is  apparent.  It  will  become  still  more  apparent,  in 
the  study  of  the  variation  in  the  standard  of  living  as  seen  in 
food  and  amusements. 

The  Money  Spent  on  the  Table  and  on  Amusements. 

Lippert  tells  us  that  the  Indians  of  New  England  called  the 
dwellers  of  the  north  "  Roheesser."  As  men  began  to  cook 
their  food  they  were  called  the  "  cooking  men."  The  same 
authority  says  that  man's  advancement  in  civilization  can  be 
measured  by  the  command  he  has  over  the  supply  of  food 
within  reach  of  him.  In  these  two  directions  men  advanced  : 
on  the  one  hand,  we  have  the  art  of  cooking,  and  on  the  other, 
we  have  a  greater  variety  of  food  for  the  maintenance  of  human 
life. 

The  art  of  cooking  is,  comparatively  speaking,  of  recent  in- 
vention. Buchanan  says  that  the  Irish  in  the  sixteenth  century 
had  no  tables  from  which  to  eat  their  meat.  They  placed  it  on 
bundles  of  straw.  The  meat  was  cooked  by  selecting  a  hollow 
tree,  placing  the  meat  therein,  and  then  setting  the  tree  on  fire. 
A  fallen  horse  often  furnished  them  meat  for  the  feast.  The 
Celts  down  to  the  seventeenth  century  warmed  their  milk  by 
putting  into  it  a  heated  stone.     Even  to-day,  many  so-called 


104  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

civilized  people  prefer  meat  raw  than  cooked,  and  it  is  not  ai 
unusual  sight  to  see  Sclavs  eating  a  piece  of  raw  pork.  And 
notwithstanding  our  advancement  in  the  art  of  cooking,  Rober 
Blatchford  says  that  the  wives  of  workingmen  in  "Merrj 
England  "  do  not  know  how  to  cook  a  beefsteak.  The  wives 
in  our  towns  fall  more  and  more  into  the  habit  of  buying  breac 
for  family  use  or  subsist  on  hot  biscuits. 

The  variety  of  food  found  on  the  table  of  the  average  work- 
ingman  is  surprising.  All  the  ends  of  the  earth  contribute  tc 
the  needs  of  the  wage  earner  to-day,  and  if  his  supply  of  one 
article  of  consumption  runs  short,  he  has  a  large  number  ol 
others  to  fall  back  upon.  The  laborers  of  our  country  are  forti- 
fied against  hunger  by  a  series  of  commodities  which  stand  in  a 
gradually  ascending  scale  of  refinement,  so  that,  in  time  of  hard- 
ship, they  can  fall  back  upon  grades  of  cheaper  food  and  be 
better  able  to  subsist  and  carry  on  the  conflict  of  life  than  former 
generations  were.  Among  wage  earners  to-day,  the  " felt  want" 
as  economists  say,  is  far  above  the  "  real  want,"  and  in  the 
strike  of  1902,  the  mine  workers  of  the  anthracite  coal  regions 
curtailed  their  purchases  to  such  an  extent  that  the  merchants 
who  dealt  in  articles  of  prime  necessity,  such  as  meat,  butter 
and  cheese,  did  not  sell  half  the  amount  they  sold  when  the 
mines  were  operated.  A  potato  famine  in  Ireland  a  century 
ago  killed  thousands  of  the  inhabitants ;  if  wheat  were  wholly 
cut  off  to-day  from  the  tables  of  American  workmen  no  such 
result  would  follow. 

No  country  on  the  face  of  the  globe  has  a  greater  supply  of 
food  than  America.  General  Booth,  of  the  Salvation  Army, 
said,  after  one  of  his  visits  to  our  country,  that  the  food  wasted 
in  our  homes  would  feed  a  nation.  Isola  Deschenes,  writing 
on  the  extravagance  of  American  families,  says  :  "  Cut  down  the 
size  of  the  garbage  barrel  —  my  observation  has  taught  me  that 
about  one  third  of  the  uncooked  food  that  goes  into  the  average 
house  goes  out  in  that  receptacle  for  refuse."  An  economist 
said  :  "  Of  two  or  three  hundred  weight  of  provisions,  which  may 
sometimes  be  served  up  at  a  great  festival,  one  half  perhaps,  is 
thrown  to  the  dung-hill,  and  there  is  always  a  great  deal  wasted 


DIFFERENT   WAYS   OF   LIVING.  105 

and  abused/'  The  same  may  be  said  of  our  festivities.  Even 
in  church  festivities  —  among  the  followers  of  the  Nazarene 
who  said  "gather  the  fragments,"  the  waste  of  the  gifts  of 
nature  is  shameful.  It  all  comes  from  the  superabundance  of 
food  at  our  command,  which  is  supplied  in  great  variety  to  the 
workers  of  our  country. 

European  workers  who  immigrate  here  feel  this.  In  a  feast 
given  in  honor  of  one  of  our  coal  operators  of  Lackawanna 
county,  the  gentleman  who  made  the  speech  of  the  evening 
said  :  "  We  often  hear  men  speaking  of  the  roast  beef  of  old 
England,  how  much  better  it  tasted  than  ours  does.  No  won- 
der, they  only  got  a  taste  once  a  day,  while  we  eat  it  three 
times  every  day."  Adam  Smith  said  of  the  French  and  Scotch 
laboring  classes  of  his  day,  that  they  "  seldom  eat  butcher's 
meat,  except  upon  holidays  and  other  extraordinary  occasions." 
That  was  exactly  the  condition  of  most  of  these  Sclav  immi- 
grants in  the  fatherland.  There  they  seldom  eat  meat ;  here  they 
get  a  plentiful  supply  at  reasonable  prices.  Is  it  then  surpris- 
ing that  most  of  them  think  this  a  goodly  land?  Nothing 
proves  the  economic  advantages  of  our  country  better  than  the 
richly  laden  tables  of  our  working  classes,  and  those  of  the  em- 
ployees in  the  anthracite  mining  regions  are  no  exception. 

The  thrifty  Sclav  immigrant  soon  finds  that  the  traditional 
standard  relative  to  the  quality  and  quantity  of  food  consumed 
by  his  countrymen  is  materially  changed  here.  When  these 
men  first  came  into  the  country,  it  was  nothing  unusual  to  see 
a  company  of  20  or  30  men  leading  a  communal  life  in  a  large 
barn.  The  place  was  run  by  a  boarding  boss  and  his  wife. 
Each  man  paid  a  dollar  a  month  for  sleeping  room,  and  a  little 
extra  to  the  woman  for  washing  his  back  each  evening.  Meat, 
potatoes,  coffee,  bread  and  cabbage  were  bought  in  common. 
At  the  close  of  the  month,  each  paid  his  pro  rata  share,  which 
was  about  $5.  One  of  these  men  said,  if  his  share  went  up 
to  $6,  "Me  kick"  :  the  cry  of  extravagance  was  raised  and 
there  was  war  in  the  camp.  A  change  has  come.  Now  single 
men  pay  from  $2  to  $3  a  month  for  lodging,  washing,  etc., 
and  buy  their  own  provisions.     It  costs  them  under  this  system 


106  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

about  $10  a  month.  Many  Sclav  young  men  in  recent  year 
following  the  American  fashion,  board  and  pay  $12  a  montJ 
The  Anglo-Saxon  boarders  pay  from  $16  to  $18.  This  amoui 
was  not  paid  by  immigrants  from  the  British  Isles  in  the  fifti< 
and  sixties  of  the  last  century.  Young  men  then  boarded  i 
Carbondale  and  Miners ville  for  $10  a  month.  The  wages  j 
that  time  were  $1  a  day  for  miners  and  75  cents  for  laborer 
But  food  was  cheap.  A  quarter  of  beef  could  be  got  for 
cents  a  pound  ;  a  whole  sheep  for  $1  or  $1.25  ;  potatoes  for  2 
cents  a  bushel ;  butter  was  a  shilling  a  pound ;  eggs  8  cents 
dozen  and  flour  $5  a  barrel.  Anglo-Saxons  also  lived  the 
simpler  than  they  do  to-day,  and  their  "  felt  want "  was  muc 
closer  to  their  "  real  want  ^'  than  it  is  now.  In  this  conditio 
the  majority  of  Sclavs  find  themselves  at  present. 

A  study  of  the  day-book  of  stores,  where  Anglo-Saxons  ar 
Sclavs  deal,  reveals  very  clearly  the  difference  in  their  standan 
of  Kving.  A  greater  variety  of  articles  are  consumed  by  tl 
former  than  the  latter.  A  store-keeper  said,  if  the  bill  of 
Sclav  goes  up  to  $10  a  month  for  groceries,  it  is  high ;  tl 
bill  of  the  average  English-speaking  family  goes  up  to  $20  ar 
$25.  By  a  computation  made,  in  one  of  the  company  stor 
in  Schuylkill  county,  of  the  purchases  of  12  English-speakii 
and  12  Sclav  families  for  one  year,  we  found  the  per  capita  e; 
penditure  of  the  former  to  be  $5.48  and  of  the  latter  $2.86  p 
month.  In  the  account  of  the  Sclavs  we  found  the  followii 
items :  flour,  barley,  salt-pork,  potatoes,  cabbage,  pickles  (ba 
rel),  garlic,  coffee,  and  coffee  essence,  sardines  (5  cans  for  ^ 
cents),  eggs,  and  very  sparingly  butter,  cheese,  and  sugar.  ] 
the  list  of  Anglo-Saxons  there  were  flour,  ham,  onions,  pot 
toes,  cabbages,  pickles  (bottled),  coffee,  tea,  eggs,  lard,  dri( 
beef,  spices,  cakes,  crackers,  mackerel,  canned  tomatoes,  cann( 
peaches,  canned  apricots,  canned  cherries,  soap,  rubbers,  broom 
lemons,  salmon,  and  large  quantities  of  butter,  cheese  and  suga 
A  perusal  of  the  contents  of  these  books  clearly  showed  th 
the  felt  want  of  the  "  white  men  "  was  far  larger  than  that 
the  "  foreigners."  The  dawn  of  luxury,  however,  was  visib 
in  some  of  the  Sclav  accounts.     It  appeared  in  the  purcha 


Sclavs  Selling  Huckleberries  to  the  Shipper. 


^OF  -THE 
OF 


DIFFERENT   WAYS    OF   LIVING.  107 

of  cheap  primes,  mixed  jams  (5  pounds  for  25  cents),  and  a 
brand  of  apple-butter  (3  pounds  for  10  cents).  These  luxuries 
would  go  a  long  way.  Observing  merchants  say  that  a  Sclav 
family  will  live  on  half  what  is  thought  to  be  necessary  for 
the  maintenance  of  an  equal  number  in  an  English-speaking 
family. 

Of  course,  there  are  exceptions.  We  knew  an  Anglo-Saxon 
who  divided  a  herring  for  two  meals,  thinking  it  luxury  to  eat  the 
whole  of  it  at  once.  No  Sclav  can  surpass  that  save  the  fellows 
who  make  a  meal  on  bread  alone.  Among  the  English-speak- 
ing of  these  coal  fields,  the  Germans  have  the  credit  of  practic- 
ing greatest  economy  in  the  home.  As  above  stated  the  contents 
of  the  tables  of  50  per  cent,  of  mine  employees  reflect  the 
condition  of  the  mining  industry.  A  wag  said,  as  he  smelt  the 
stench  of  smoked  herrings  in  a  patch  :  "  It's  poor  times  ;  when 
times  are  good  you'll  smell  beefsteak  and  onions."  He  spoke 
the  truth.  When  the  pinch  comes  the  table  feels  it  even  sooner 
than  dress  or  social  amusements.  Vanity,  even  in  civilized 
people,  is  stronger  than  appetite.  Many  a  girl  goes  ungrudg- 
ingly to  the  table  to  satisfy  her  hunger  with  bread  and  pickles 
if  only  she  can  get  that  waist  made  for  the  party.  Many  a 
family  also,  which  struggles  to  meet  its  dues  in  a  building  and 
loan  association,  will  spend  less  on  the  table  than  those  who 
have  their  homes  paid  for.  It  is  wonderful  how  some  will 
stint  themselves  for  the  sake  of  a  house.  It  is  pathetic  to  hear 
a  father  on  his  dying  bed  saying  :  "  How  foolish,  why  did  we 
pinch  ourselves  so  ?  " 

The  Sclavs  as  a  rule  make  the  best  of  everything.  If  they 
have  a  garden,  they  take  good  care  of  it.  Many  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  do  the  same.  It  is  interesting  to  pass  along  the 
Schuylkill  and  Tremont  valleys  and  see  the  many  little  farms 
which  are  cultivated  by  mine  employees  of  the  Philadelphia 
and  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company.  In  the  strike  of  1902, 
hundreds  of  mine  employees'  families  could  not  have  carried 
on  so  brave  a  fight  if  it  were  not  for  the  small  farms  and  large 
gardens  they  cultivate,  which  are  leased  to  them  or  are  attached 
to  the  company  houses. 


108  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

In  the  summer  months,  the  wives  and  children  of  the  Scla 
gather  huckleberries  on  the  mountains,  which  they  sell  frc 
house  to  house,  or  to  hucksters  who  crate  and  forward  them 
the  city.  Few  Anglo-Saxon  women  pick  berries ;  they  sa 
"  What's  the  use,  when  you  can  buy  them  at  the  door  so  cheap  ■ 

In  amusements  the  English-speaking  spend  far  more  th 
do  the  Sclavs.  The  continual  series  of  theatrical  compani 
which  come  to  our  towns  are  almost  wholly  supported  by  t 
native  born.  To  the  Sclav  these  are  no  attractions  for  they  « 
not  understand  the  proceedings.  His  chief  diversion  is  t 
saloon,  card-playing,  an  occasional  dance  and  the  weddin 
and  christenings  which  occur.  Those  of  the  baser  sort  carou 
after  each  pay,  and  when  their  animal  nature  is  excited  and  tl 
brute  appears,  they  become  more  fierce  and  blood-thirsty  thj 
the  savage  beast  of  the  forest. 

The  mother  of  a  young  American  said  :  "  He  takes  |] 
every  month  and  spends  it,  and  on  Thanksgiving  and  Chris 
mas  asks  for  extra."  A  young  Sclav  will  live  on  that.  Your 
men,  earning  their  living  in  and  around  the  mines,  spend  eac 
month  on  amusements  from  $3  to  $5.  In  every  town  of  froi 
4,000  to  6,000  population  there  is  an  opera  house  where  thea 
rical  companies  play,  and  it  is  estimated  that  from  $6,000  1 
$8,000  is  spent  annually  by  the  native  born  in  amusement 
In  a  town  of  13,000,  the  amount  annually  spent  was  estimate 
to  be  from  $20,000  to  $25,000.  All  this  comes  from  "  youn 
America,"  and  it  partly  accounts  for  the  fact  that  this  latt€ 
class  saves  no  money,  while  the  young  Sclav  lays  aside  eac 
month  from  $20  to  $25  when  the  mines  are  working  regularlj 

Much  is  said  about  the  food  supply  of  the  Sclav,  and  it  i 
claimed  that  it  is  not  what  it  ought  to  be.  The  question,  wha 
amount  of  food  does  an  adult  need  to  replace  the  force  spent  i 
labor  and  keep  intact  the  physical  organism,  is  variously  an 
swered.  Charles  Richet,  a  learned  French  physiologist,  give 
the  following  amount  of  food  as  adequate  to  satisfy  an  adult  fo 
24  hours  :  Meat,  4.4  ozs.;  bread,  10.5  ozs.;  potatoes,  10.5  ozs. 
butter  and  cheese,  1.7  ozs.  He  said  that  we  daily  exceed  thi 
limit  to  the  injury  of  our  health.     The  adult  who  would  limi 


DIPFEKENT  WAYS   OF   LIVING.  109 

himself  to  the  above  supply  would  live  on  an  average  of  about 
13  cents  a  day,  or  $3.90  a  month.  The  Hun's  expenditure  ex- 
ceeds that  not  counting  the  beer  he  drinks  and  the  few  luxuries 
he  indulges  in. 

Dr.  Ranke  gives  the  following  quantity  of  food  as  sufficient 
for  24  hours  for  an  adult  who  performs  arduous  toil. 

Grammes.  Ounces. 

Proteids 110-120  or      3.8-4.2 

Fats 60-100  or       2.1-3.5 

Carbohydrates 450-500  or  15.8-17.5 

Professor  Huxley  gives  the  following  quantity  as  "  an  aver- 
age daily  diet  for  a  healthy  man.'' 

Grammes.  Ounces. 

Proteids 130      or  4.6 

Fats 50      or  1.7 

Carbohydrates 400      or  14.1 

To  yield  this  quantity  of  food-stuff  all  that  is  necessary  is 

Ounces.  Cents. 

Very  lean  meat 8        worth     7 

Bread 16  ''       7 

Potatoes 24  ''        1.5 

Milk 00.75pt.  *'       3 

Fats 1  "       1 

Total 19.5 

According  to  this  estimate  a  healthy  man's  diet  would  only 
cost  him  19.5  cents  a  day,  or  $5.85  a  month,  which  approaches 
nearer  the  Sclav's  expenditure  than  that  of  Richet. 

The  lowest  stratum  of  mine  employees  has  a  larger  variety 
of  food  than  the  list  laid  down  by  Richet  or  Huxley.  The 
Sclavs  have  good  bread  made  of  the  best  wheat  or  rye ;  they 
use  much  barley  in  soups ;  they  consume  daily  about  a  pound 
of  fat  pork  or  beef  for  boiling  (8  to  10  cents  per  pound)  or 
bologna,  sausage,  a  quantity  of  potatoes,  cabbage,  milk,  coffee 
and  beer,  butter  and  cheese,  sugar,  garlic,  and  on  fast  days 
eggs  and  fish. 

Some  may  object  to  the  Sclav's  way  of  eating  —  a  plain 
table,  agate  utensils  and  a  pocket  knife.     A  table-cloth  of  fine 


110  ANTHRACITE    COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

linen,  imported  crockery,  silver  knives  and  forks,  etc.,  certain 
aid  the  appetite,  but  if  according  to  Richet  we  impair  01 
health  by  eating  too  much,  why  intensify  the  evil?  B 
fashion  ?  Yes,  that  is  the  nemesis  —  the  tyranny  of  fashioi 
inexorable  rivalry  among  the  working  classes,  who  imitate 
a  shallow  manner  the  rich  in  house,  clothing  and  diet. 

What  is  the  standard  of  living  for  American  citizens 
which  so  much  is  said  of  late?  Does  it  mean  meat  thr 
times  a  day,  a  quart  of  beer  and  an  ounce  of  tobacco  ?  C 
shall  we  take  that  of  homes  with  a  large  garbage  barrel  in 
which  one  third  of  the  food  purchased  goes  ?  Or  shall  we  s£ 
that  the  American  citizen  ought  to  dine  at  seven,  spend  h 
evening  in  the  theatre,  then  play  poker  till  midnight  and  go  i 
bed  "  tight.''  This  indefinite  term  the  "  American  standard  < 
living ''  affords  the  demagogue  a  lever  to  arouse  an  audienc 
of  wage  earners  to  enthusiasm,  but  the  sooner  society,  an 
especially  the  working  classes,  learn  that  no  organization  ( 
legislative  measures  can  secure  them  a  life  of  ease  and  luxur 
the  better.  We  can  only  get  from  nature  our  food,  clothic 
and  shelter  by  arduous  toil,  and  anyone  who  teaches  otherwis 
will  lead  the  working  classes  into  the  slough  of  despair  whenc 
they  cannot  extricate  themselves  save  by  hardships  and  blooc 
shed.  A  good  appetite,  waiting  on  plain  diet,  is  far  bett( 
than  a  sluggish  digestion  deranged  by  highly  seasoned  foo( 
Mephistopheles  tells  Faust  he  can  at  eighty  grow  hale  an 
young,  if  only 

".     .     .     to  the  fields  repair, 
Begin  to  delve,  to  cultivate  the  ground," 

against  this  the  scholar  and  gentleman  protests  : 

"  For  this  mean  life  my  spirit  soars  too  high," 

and  to  the  witch  he  goes,  where  for  a  cordial  he  sells  himse) 
to  the  devil  and  henceforth  walks  the  way  where  lust,  murde 
and  hell  await  him. 

This  same  Faust-like  spirit  is  still  in  the  world.  Mtti  say 
that  the  cry  for  higher  wages  and  fewer  hours  is  the  outcrop  c 
repugnance  to  manual  labor.     Men  dream  that  by  some  magi 


DIFFERENT   WAYS    OF    LIVING.  Ill 

spell  they  can  secure  themselves  the  blessings  of  earth  which 
only  come  by  honest  toil.  There  is  only  one  outlook  for  this. 
It  is  the  way  of  sorrow,  hardships,  anarchy  and  murder.  Dr. 
Ranke  says  that  every  man  is  healthier  and  better  if  his  physi- 
cal powers  are  exercised  within  the  range  of  their  capacity,  and 
the  repugnance  to  manual  labor,  so  commonly  seen  among  the 
descendants  of  foreign  born  parents,  cannot  be  regarded  other- 
wise than  as  a  degeneracy. 

The  Effects'  of  a  Rising  Standard  of  Living. 

We  have  seen  the  great  variation  in  the  standard  of  living 
between  the  Sclav  and  the  Anglo-Saxon.  The  peoples  of 
southern  Europe  come  here  with  their  traditional  customs  and 
usages.  They  cling  to  them  with  great  tenacity,  but  it  would 
be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  they  are  not  influenced  by  the 
nations  around  them.  The  Sclav,  notwithstanding  he  is  behind 
the  Anglo-Saxon  in  civilization,  is  not  so  far  remqved  that  he 
does  not  feel  the  influence  of  the  law  of  social  capillarity, 
Walter  Bagehot  said  that  "  the  experience  of  the  English  in 
India  shows  that  a  highly  civilized  race  may  fail  in  producing 
a  rapidly  excellent  effect  on  a  less  civilized  race,  because  it  is 
too  good  and  too  different.  The  higher  being  is  not  and  cannot 
be  a  model  for  the  lower ;  he  could  not  mould  himself  on  it  if 
he  would,  and  would  not  if  he  could.  But  in  early  society 
there  were  no  such  great  differences,  and  the  rather  superior 
conqueror  must  have  easily  improved  the  rather  inferior  con- 
quered." The  relation  between  the  various  nationalities  in 
these  coal  fields  is  best  represented  by  that  existing  among  men 
in  the  early  stage  of  the  world's  civilization.  They  act  and 
react  upon  each  other,  and  the  Sclavs  gradually  feel  the  effect 
of  new  ideas  in  a  new  environment. 

Among  the  representatives  of  the  races  from  the  British 
Isles  there  has  been  spirited  rivalry  for  the  last  half  century. 
It  is  even  now  felt  by  the  descendants  of  the  various  races. 
This,  as  shown  in  the  last  chapter,  enters  into  the  economic  life 
of  the  male  members  of  our  population.  In  the  sphere  of  the 
home  it  is  none  the  less  apparent  among  the  female  members 


112  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

of  our  society.  This  rivalry  brings  with  it  many  evils,  but 
is  also  productive  of  great  good.  Lilienfeld  says  that  a  sociei 
without  conflicting  interests,  competition  in  production  ai 
conflict  for  existence,  is  doomed  to  death.  A  stratified  sociei 
is  the  curse  of  India.  That  is  not  the  case  with  our  societ_ 
The  law  of  social  capillarity  was  never  felt  by  man  as  it  is  i 
our  land,  and  the  anthracite  coal  fields  are  no  exception.  Inl 
this  competition  and  conflict  the  Sclavs  are  entering  more  an 
more,  and  the  tension  and  stress  of  life  felt  in  these  communiti< 
in  the  past  fifty  years  are  destined  to  characterize  still  furth( 
them  for  the  next  half  century.  Mr.  Ward  tells  us  that  "  i 
the  last  analysis  the  sole  fact  in  the  idea  of  life  ^'  is  irritability 
X     In  recent  years  the  Sclavs  have  come  into  closer  contact  wit 

I  Anglo-Saxons  than  at  any  former  period  since  their  introduc 
tion  into  the  coal  fields.     One  of  the  miners  said:  "The  Scla 

'  hitherto  has  been  led,  soon  he  will  lead."  The  irritabilit 
introduced  into  his  life  since  1900  has  awakened  his  energie 
as  never  before,  and  the  activity  and  leadership  displayed  b 
many  of  them  foreshadow  a  competition  between  Sclav  am 
Anglo-Saxon  in  this  area  such  as  was  never  waged  between  th 
Teuton  and  Celt. 

The  change  wrought  in  the  standard  of  living  accounts  fo 
the  industrial  friction  which  has  seriously  disturbed  the  anthra 
cite  industry  of  recent  years.  Industrial  conflicts  were  fierce! 
waged  in  these  coal  fields  in  the  latter  seventies  of  the  las 
century,  but  the  causes  were  more  due  to  the  fluctuations  in  th* 

(  monetary  affairs  of  the  nation  than  to  any  other  factor.     In  th< 

\  strikes  of  1900  and  1902,  the  chief  cause  of  the  conflicts  i; 
found  in  the  changed  economic  life  of  a  large  number  of  mine 
employees.  No  great  movement  can  be  adequately  explainec 
by  one  cause.  A  composition  of  forces  ever  act  upon  societ} 
as  in  the  inorganic  world,  but  as  in  the  latter  the  direction  o^ 
the  moving  body  indicates  which  is  the  prime  motor  in  the 
combination,  so  the  emphasis  laid  upon  the  economic  life  oi 
mine  workers  indicates  that  the  chief  cause  of  murmur  lie& 
there.  In  his  public  addresses,  John  Mitchell,  President  oi 
the  United  Mine  Workers,  always  emphasized  the  fact  that  the 


DIFFERENT   WAYS   OF    LIVING.  113 

wages  paid  the  employees  of  the  anthracite  collieries  were  not 
adequate  to  afford  the  men  a  living  such  as  American  citizens 
ought  to  secure.  He  spoke  as  a  native  born  citizen,  and  he 
mouthed  the  sentiments  of  the  thousands  of  native  born  em- 
ployees in  and  around  the  mines,  who  regulate  their  living 
according  to  a  standard  much  higher  than  that  by  which  their 
foreign  born  parents  lived.  ^ 

The  wages  of  laborers  determine  the  amount  of  articles  of 
consumption  placed  at  their  command.  The  real  wage  is  to  be 
measured  by  the  quantity  of  consumable  goods  which  the  wage 
earners  can  purchase  with  their  earnings.  Adam  Smith  said 
that  the  better  wages  paid  labor  in  England  than  in  France  ac- 
counted for  "the  difference  between  the  dress  and  countenance 
of  the  common  people  in  the  one  country  and  in  the  other." 
It  is  also  true  that  a  "  rise  in  the  average  price  of  necessaries, 
unless  it  is  compensated  by  a  proportionable  rise  in  the  wages 
of  labor,"  must  affect  the  social  and  domestic  relations  of  the 
wage  earners.  Down  to  a  certain  point,  vanity  will  cut  across 
the  line  of  real  need.  Put  the  marginal  line  of  necessaries  ever 
so  low,  when  that  is  reached,  men  will  part  with  all  superfluities 
that  they  may  keep  the  organism  in  working  order.  These 
laws,  so  well  established  in  economics,  should  be  laid  along  side 
that  of  social  capillarity  in  order  to  explain  the  conditions  in 
anthracite  communities  which  precipitated  recent  conflicts  be- 
tween capital  and  labor. 

Dugald  Stuart  said :  "  Far  from  considering  poverty  as  an 
advantage  to  the  state,  their  [modern  politicians]  great  aim  is  to 
open  new  sources  of  national  opulence,  and  to  animate  the 
activity  of  all  classes  of  the  people,  by  a  taste  for  the  comforts 
and  accommodations  of  life."  The  same  idea  is  frequently  met 
with  in  modern  writers.  C.  R.  Henderson  says  :  "  A  civilized 
man  wants  many  things  and  is  willing  to  work  hard  to  get 
them."  This  doctrine  accounts  for  the  fact  that  modern 
industry  has  so  stimulated  production  that  the  markets  are 
flooded  with  new  commodities  which,  entering  into  the  lives  of 
men,  are  soon  deemed  necessaries.  Lord  Chief  Justice  Hale 
computed  in  the  time  of  Charles  II.  that  "  the  necessary  ex- 
9 


114  ANTHRACITE   GOAL   COMMUNITIES. 

pense  of  a  laborer's  family,  consisting  of  six  persons,  the  fat! 
and  mother,  two  children  able  to  do  something,  and  two  not  ab 
at  ten  shillings  a  week  or  twenty  six  pounds  a  year."  Ni 
puts  the  annual  expense  of  the  average  family  of  mine  work< 
in  the  countries  specified  as  follows  : 

United  States $655.88 

England 571.85 

Belgium 466.70 

Germany 461.73 

This  is  six-fold  what  it  was  in  the  time  of  Chief  Justi 
Hale.     Of  course  the  prices  of  provisions  have  greatly  ad  vane 
since  the  seventeenth  century,  but  the  chief  difference  lies  in  t 
rise  in  the  standard  of  living  among  the  working  classes.     I 
deed  the  real  need  of  mine  employees  in  the  United  States 
far  higher  than  that  of  their  brethren  in  Belgium  or  German 
as  the  differences  in  the  above  averages  suggest.     This  rise 
the  standard  of  living  is  stimulated  by  no  class  as  by  capitalist 
and,  if  the  wage  earners  demand   higher  wages  to  meet  t] 
larger  list  of  commodities  now  deemed  necessaries,  they  oug 
not  to  complain  of  the  "insolence  of  employees."     If  cap 
talists,  having  goods  to  sell,  stimulate  the  wants  of  consume 
and  designedly  create  tastes  among  the  masses  for  articles 
neutral  and  even  negative  utility,  they  can  expect  a  harvest 
industrial  conflicts  which  will,  sooner  or  later,  lead  to  exper 
ments  in  some  form  of  socialism.     The  law  of  nature  is  "  Ui 
stimulus,  ibi  fluxus."     This  is  also  a  law  in  social  life.     Pn 
fessor  Clark  has  shown  that  at  present  a  larger  proportion  tha 
ever  before  of  the  productive  wealth  goes  to  laborers.     It 
also  true  that  interest  decreases  as  capital  increases.     GrantiD 
this  to  be  true,  it  is  yet  equally  so  that  the  fluxus  does  not  kee 
pace  with  the  stimulus  in  the  working  classes,  and  the  result  ; 
that  laborers,  under  the  sting  of  a  rising  civilization  measure 
by  the  multiplicity  of  our  wants,  are  up  in  arms  against  tl 
captains  of  industry,  and  demand  higher  wages  to  purchase  moi 
consumable   goods   and   shorter   hours   to    enjoy  them.     Th 
Anglo-Saxon  has  taught  the  Sclav  the  new  demands  and  stul 
bornly  does  the  latter  stand  by  his  leaders  in  the  conflict. 


DIFFERENT   WAYS   OF   LIVING.  116 

What  is  to  be  the  criterion  of  the  necessaries  of  life?  At 
the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century  an  English  writer  condemned 
the  refinement  of  his  contemporaries  in  constructing  chimneys 
instead  of  leaving  the  smoke  pass  where  it  would.  He  also 
condemned,  as  uncalled-for  luxury,  the  substitution  of  wooden 
vessels  in  place  of  clay  ones.  He  did  not  think  that  chimneys 
and  wooden  vessels  were  necessaries.  A  very  different  stan- 
dard is  given  us  by  Mr.  Ward  who  says  :  "  Everything  which 
exerts  the  least  influence  in  improving  the  physical  condition  of 
man  is  a  necessity."  A  bath,  clean  linen,  comb  and  razor 
would  greatly  improve  the  physical  condition  of  fifty  per  cent, 
of  the  mine  employees,  but  they  are  far  from  considering  these 
conveniences  —  accessible  to  all  —  as  necessaries.  The  same 
author  says  :  "  It  is  not  only  necessary  to  maintain  a  bare  exis- 
tence, but  it  is  essential  to  the  preservation  of  the  race  that  its 
means  of  subsistence  be  ample  and  abundant."  If  we  consider 
this  from  the  standpoint  of  the  variation  in  the  standard  of  liv- 
ing between  Sclav  and  Teuton,  as  shown  in  the  previous  pages, 
we  see  that  what  affords  a  bare  existence  to  the  latter  is  ample 
and  abundant  to  the  former.  While  the  Anglo-Saxons  are 
complaining  that  they  are  not  able  to  make  a  living  in  these 
coal  fields  according  to  the  wages  paid  in  1901,  the  Sclavs  save 
money.  A  Hun,  who  settled  in  Lackawanna  county  in  1892, 
worked  for  $1.38  a  day  and  his  wife  kept  boarders  ;  in  1900, 
both  returned  to  the  fatherland  with  $2,000  saved.  A  young 
Ruthenian  began  life  in  the  coal  fields  in  1890  as  a  laborer  and 
in  ten  years  had  saved  $1,500.  Private  bankers,  who  have 
kept  these  people's  money,  say  that  the  average  man  among 
them  will  save  from  $20  to  $25  each  month  when  the  mines 
work  regularly.  Here  are  some  examples.  A  young  Sclav, 
who  had  been  in  the  country  nine  months,  had  the  following 
bank  account :  March  $55,  April  $20,  May  $20,  June  $20, 
July  $44;  making  a  total  of  $159.  Another,  in  the  country 
two  years,  had  the  following  bank  account :  1899,  July  $30, 
August  $20,  September  $20,  October  $25,  November  $30  ; 
1900,  January  $25,  March  $20,  May  $25,  June  $20,  July 
$25,  making   a    total   of   $240.      These  are  not   exceptions. 


116  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

They  are  but  fair  samples  of  the  thrift  of  this  people.  As  a  ri 
they  save  money.  It  is  otherwise  with  the  Anglo-Saxor 
New  wants  and  desires  have  multiplied  in  the  life  of  the  nati 
bom  so  that  he  spends,  in  luxury,  a  monthly  sum  amply  sul 
cient  to  procure  the  Sclav  the  means  of  subsistence. 

Adam  Smith  says  :  "  The  principle  which  prompts  to  save 
the  desire  of  bettering  our  condition,  a  desire  which,  thou| 
generally  calm  and  dispassionate,  comes  with  us  from  the  won 
and  never  leaves  us  until  we  go  into  the  grave.  In  the  wh( 
interval  which  separates  those  two  moments,  there  is  scar 
perhaps,  a  single  instance  in  which  any  man  is  so  perfectly  ai 
completely  satisfied  with  his  situation  as  to  be  without  any  wi 
of  alteration  or  improvement  of  any  kind.''  This  was  pi 
eminently  true  of  the  immigrants  into  these  coal  fields  fro 
the  British  Isles  and  Germany  the  past  generation  as  it  is  1 
day  of  the  Sclav.  And,  not  only  were  these  men  anxious 
improve  their  lot,  but  they  were  willing  to  work  hard,  live  < 
plain  food  and  clothing,  and  practice  frugality.  The  desceu' 
ants  of  the  earlier  settlers  are  not  so  industrious,  not  so  frug 
and  not  so  simple  in  their  tastes  as  their  fathers  were,  so  th 
while  their  desires  and  wants  are  higher  their  productive  capa 
ity  in  the  mining  industry  is  lower.  The  maxim,  "eve 
prodigal  appears  to  be  a  public  enemy,  and  every  frugal  mj 
a  public  benefactor,"  is  largely  forgotten  now-a-days.  M< 
are  anxious  to  make  work.  The  native  born  will  drive  1: 
pick  through  the  empty  powder-keg  which  his  father  saved  f 
the  sake  of  the  10  cents  it  would  bring.  One  of  the  loc 
unions  in  our  towns  passed  a  resolution,  that  no  man  shou 
patch  old  rubber  boots  for,  by  so  doing,  he  diminished  tl 
labor  needed  in  that  industry.  Prodigality  characterizes  "  youi 
America''  in  these  regions,  and  not  only  does  he  beggar  hit 
self  thereby,  but  the  country  is  also  impoverished. 

In  the  last  strike  (1902),  the  president  of  the  Miners'  Uni( 
asked  that  two  church  dignitaries  be  appointed  arbitrators 
decide  whether  or  not  wages  paid  anthracite  mine  employe 
were  adequate  to  give  them  a  living  such  as  American  citizei 
ought  to  have.     Suppose  half  a  dozen  farmers  from  the  valle; 


DIFFERENT   WAYS   OF   LIVING.  117 

surrounding  the  coal  fields  were  selected  arbitrators  in  the  dis- 
pute ?  Would  the  man  with  the  hoe  say  that  the  man  with 
the  pick  did  not  get  his  share  of  the  productive  wealth  ?  How 
much  is  the  annual  income  of  the  farmer — this  man  who  has 
during  the  years  of  tariff  tinkering  and  manufacturers'  greed 
and  industrial  selfishness,  patiently  borne  the  burden  until 
many  of  his  ilk  in  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States  have  been 
driven  to  bankruptcy  and  despair  !  When  will  the  eyes  and 
hearts  of  wage  earners  see  and  feel  that  this  fatal  idea  of  "  mak- 
ing work  "  and  the  Utopian  idea  of  "  living  like  gentlemen  " 
only  add  to  the  burden  that  must  be  borne  by  their  brethren 
either  on  the  soil  or  in  the  lower  stratum  of  workers  in  the  in- 
dustrial world?  Labels  of  trades'  unions  and  of  consumers' 
leagues  mean  advanced  prices  for  commodities  purchased  by 
the  working  classes  themselves.  It  is  a  tax  placed  by  brother 
upon  brother.  The  selfishness  of  some  trades'  unions  has  never 
been  equaled  by  the  most  tyrannous  of  capitalistic  monopolies. 
Upon  whom  fell  the  suffering  and  loss  of  the  anthracite  coal 
strike  of  1902?  The  impoverished  mothers  and  ill-clad  chil- 
dren of  the  coal  fields,  the  wage  earner's  family  and  the  sickly 
poor  in  the  cities ;  these  were  the  ones  who  suffered  the  brunt 
of  that  conflict.  And  it  is  so  in  every  industrial  strife.  One 
class  of  wage  earners  in  the  attempt  to  raise  its  wages  inflicts 
suffering  and  death  upon  another  class  of  wage  earners.  Such 
crude  methods  of  improving  the  lot  of  man  is  not  worthy  of 
the  intelligence  and  the  civilization  of  the  twentieth  century. 

Is  there  a  better  way  ?  Not  so  long  as  workingmen,  driven 
by  the  desire  to  improve  their  lot,  base  their  hopes  upon  ob- 
jective realities,  while  neglecting  the  man  —  the  center  of  our 
civilization.  Shoddy  goods,  glittering  trinkets,  cheap  uphol- 
stery, and  legislative  quackery,  will  never  improve  the  lot  of 
man.  The  Phoenician,  Grecian  and  Etrurian  traders,  who 
frequented  the  trading  stations  of  the  Volga  and  Dvina,  pre- 
sented a  great  contrast  to  the  barbarous  nations  of  northern 
Europe.  The  civilized,  who  were  refined  and  had  a  great 
multiplicity  of  wants,  brought  glimmering  metals  and  shining 
glassware  in  exchange  for  the  skins,  oil  and  cereals  of  the  bar- 


118  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

barians.  These  last  commodities  were  useful,  and  in  time  the 
producers  conquered  the  producers  of  articles  of  neutral  ar 
negative  utility.  The  simple  barbarians  on  the  shores 
America  were  surprised  at  the  passion  of  the  Spaniards  to  obta: 
their  gold  ornaments.  These  glittering  baubles  they  gave 
their  new  guests  without  seeming  to  think  they  had  made  the; 
any  very  valuable  present.  But  that  thirst  for  gold  proved  tl 
death-knell  of  the  nation.  An  insatiable  thirst  for  materi: 
things  will  doom  every  nation  to  degeneracy. 

In  the  evolution  of  society,  success  in  the  conflict  of  life  d« 
pends  more  and  more  upon  the  psychical  factors  of  the  coi 
testants.  In  primitive,  and  indeed  down  to  comparativel 
recent  times,  the  physical  sphere  of  the  conflict  was  all  in 
portant.  In  recent  times,  this  is  changed.  It  may  be  true  i 
Mr.  Ward  says,  that  in  the  last  analysis  all  conflict  is  reduce 
to  force,  but  the  change  in  the  character  of  force  is  all  importan 
In  the  conflict  between  individuals,  societies,  or  states,  inte^ 
lectual  capacities  and  moral  qualities  decide  the  victory.  Purel 
animal  tendencies  count  for  little  now-a-days  and,  in  the  futun 
the  psychical  sphere  of  the  conflict  will  still  grow  in  importance 

This  great  truth  should  be  learned  by  the  workers  who  tr 
to  improve  their  condition.  The  virtues  of  frugality,  simplicit 
and  thrift  cannot  be  abandoned.  The  supply  of  wealth  is  lim 
ited,  and  any  attempt  to  secure  unto  all  men  the  luxury  au' 
abundance  of  the  rich  must  end  in  misery  and  suffering.  Goe 
the  once  said  :  "  It  is  always  a  misfortune  for  him  [man]  whei 
he  is  induced  to  strive  after  something  with  which  he  canno 
come  into  active  relations."  The  wants  of  the  native  born  i] 
these  coal  fields  are  so  stimulated  that  they  cannot  be  satisfiet 
by  the  productive  wealth  of  these  mines.  As  a  consequenc 
"  young  America "  is  up  in  arms  against  the  social  and  in 
dustrial  order  which  does  not  supply  it  with  the  means  re 
quisite  to  maintain  this  raised  standard  of  living.  Sooner  o 
later  society  will  find  out  that  this  is  not  the  path  of  peace 
It  seems  as  if  "  whirlwinds  of  rebellion  "  must  first  "  shake  th- 
world "  before  the  lesson  is  taught,  and  perchance  the  pessi 
mism  of  Galton  and  Rumelin,  that  a  return  to  barbarism  is  th( 


DIFFERENT   WAYS    OF   LIVING.  119 

only   outlook  before   modern    society,  is  not  the   forecast  of 
timid  hearts. 

If  such  a  doom  is  to  be  evaded,  the  working  class  must  give 
more  attention  to  the  psychical  factors.  An  English  writer  of 
the  sixteenth  century  complained  that  oak  was  used  in  the  con- 
struction of  homes  which  formerly  were  built  of  willow,  and 
adds  :  "  Formerly  the  houses  were  of  willows  but  the  men  of 
oak,  but  to-day  it  is  the  contrary.''  The  progress  of  society 
must  ever  rest  upon  the  type  of  man  at  the  center  of  it,  and  in 
our  studies  we  always  come  to  this  one  result,  that  the  only  hope 
of  man's  advancement  lies  in  the  physical,  intellectual  and 
moral  improvement  of  the  individual.  * 

*The  comparison  of  Sclav  and  Anglo-Saxon  made  in  this  chapter  is  not 
exactly  just  to  the  Sclav,  for  the  English-speaking  mine  employees  have  been 
under  the  influence  of  American  civilization  for  over  a  generation.  It  would 
be  more  just  to  make  the  comparison  with  the  immigrants  of  thirty  or  forty 
years  ago  from  the  British  Isles.  The  late  Abram  S.  Hewitt  spoke  of  a  tour 
he  made  through  the  coal  fields  in  1876  as  follows :  "I  found  terrible  condi- 
tions there.  I  found  the  men  living  like  pigs  and  dogs,  under  wretchedly 
brutal  conditions."  Nothing  worse  than  that  can  be  said  of  the  Sclavs  of  to- 
day. 


CHAPTER  V. 

MINE   EMPLOYEES   AT   HOME. 

1.  Dwelling  Houses  in  Mining  Towns.  2.  The  Condition  of  Womes 
Therein.  3.  The  Eights  of  Children.  4.  The  Need  of  Betteb 
Homes. 


Dwelling  Houses  in  Mining  Towns. 

According  to  the  census  of  1900,  the  average  number  of  per- 
sons to  a  family  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  was  4.8,  and  the 
average  number  of  persons  to  a  dwelling  was  5.1  in  1900,  5.3 
in  1890,  and  5.5  in  1880.  In  the  counties  of  Lackawanna, 
Luzerne  and  Schuylkill,  5  persons  is  the  average  number  in  a 
family  and  5.4  to  a  dwelling.  Thus  we  have  a  slightly  larger 
average  in  both  these  respects  in  the  counties  where  anthracite 
mining  is  the  staple  industry  than  in  all  the  State. 

The  following  table  gives  the  population,  the  number  of 
dwellings  and  the  number  of  families  in  nine  counties  of  our 
State. 


County. 

Total  Popu- 
lation. 

Iiackawa,nna 

193,831 
257,121 

Luzerne 

Schuylkill 

171,927 

Berks  

159,615 

Susquehanna 

40,043 

Chester 

95,695 
159,241 

Lancaster 

Clearfield 

80,614 

Westmoreland 

160,175 

Total 
Dwellings. 


34,454 
48,070 
33,236 

33,173 

8,976 

20,206 

34,323 

15,467 
30,111 


Persons  per 
Dwelling. 


5.6 
5.3 
5.2 

4.8 
4.4 

4.7 
4.6 

5.2 
5.3 


Total 
Families. 


38,779 
50,226 
34,328 

34,594 

9,592 

20,768 

35,559 

15,879 
31,738 


Persons  per 
Family. 


5.0 
5.1 
5.0 

4.6 
4.1 
4.6 
4.5 

5.1 
5.0 


In  this  table  the  three  first  counties  are  in  the  anthracite 
coal  fields,  while  the  two  last  are  in  the  bituminous  coal  fields, 
and  the  intervening  four  counties  are  chiefly  agricultural.  The 
anthracite  and  bituminous  counties  are  practically  alike  in  the 


120 


MINE   EMPLOYEES   AT   HOME. 


121 


number  of  persons  to  the  family  and  to  the  dwelling,  while 
they  lead  the  agricultural  counties  in  both  respects. 

If  we  carry  out  the  comparison  to  purely  mining  towns  the 
contrast  is  still  more  striking. 


Place. 

Total 
Population. 

Total 
Dwellings. 

Persons  to 
a  Dwelling. 

Total 
Families. 

Persons  to 
Family. 

oj  f  Mahanoj  City 

*3     Shenandoah 

13,504 
20,321 

6,180 
12,116 

3,425 

5,081 

33,988 

7,160 

4,663 

5,847 

2,529 
3,521 

945 
2,233 

572 

974 
6,677 
1,367 

1,034 
1,280 

5.3 
5.7 
6.5 
5.4 
5.9 

5.2 
5.1 
5.2 

4.5 
4.5 

2,584 
3,683 
1,130 
2,325 
604 

1,005 
6,908 
1,477 

1,138 
1,312 

5.2 
5.5 

2  -I  Olyphant 

5.3 

"5  I  Nanticoke 

^  LWinton 

5.2 
5.6 

rClearfield 

5.1 

•^  \  Chester  City 

4.9 

"  iConnellsville 

u  f  To  wan  da 

4.8 
4.1 

^  1  Tvrone 

4.4 

The  table  shows  that  in  mining  towns  the  number  of  persons 
to  the  family  and  the  number  of  persons  to  the  dwelling  exceed 
those  of  rural  communities. 

If  we  take  the  five  first  towns  specified  above,  we  have  5.7 
as  the  average  number  of  persons  to  a  dwelling  in  typical 
anthracite  mining  towns.  This  necessitates  70,175  dwellings 
to  shelter  the  400,000  persons  directly  dependent  on  this  min- 
ing industry.  Beside  this  there  are  other  50,000  dwellings 
in  the  territory  under  consideration,  where  dwell  the  profes- 
sional men,  merchants,  mechanics,  etc.,  who  are  indirectly 
dependent  upon  the  anthracite  mining  industry. 

Many  of  the  houses  in  which  the  mine  workers  live  are 
owned  by  the  coal  companies.  The  majority  of  these  was 
built  by  individual  operators  in  the  fifties  and  sixties,  when 
operations  were  begun  in  a  wilderness  and  the  mining  companies 
in  order  to  shelter  their  employees  within  reasonable  distance 
of  the  mines,  had  to  build  houses  for  them.  When  the  indi- 
vidual operators  were  bought  out  by  the  corporations,  the 
houses  were  sold  with  the  plant,  and  a  large  corporation,  such 
as  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company,  con- 
tinues to  rent  these  houses  to  its  employees. 

The  following  table,  compiled  from  the  assessors'  books  of 


122 


ANTHRACITE   COAL    COMMUNITIES. 


the  various  counties,  will  give  some  idea  of  the  number  o: 
houses,  together  with  their  assessed  valuation,  rented  by  th( 
various  coal  companies  to  their  employees. 


Company 

Houses.    Assessoes'  Valuation. 

County. 

Total 
No. 

$25 

$60 

$75 

$100 

$125 

$150 

$175 

$200 

$225 

$250 

$300 

$350 

$400 

$500 

$600 

$70< 

Schuylkill 

3233 

3973 

731 

605 

98 
20 
22 
130 

79 

299 

11 

99 

97 
48 
50 

1923 

1042 

121 

39 

66 

196 
90 

272 
96 

2 

8 
159 

237 

70 

82 
44 

40 
795 

91 

185 

84 
56 

37 
911 

42 
12 

27 
472 

102 

7 

1 

Luzerne 

19' 

Lackawanna 

Northu  mberlan  d.. 

TotaL. 

8547 

270 

389 

294 

3125 

352 

370 

167 

307 

126 

926 

125 

948 

54 

601 

' 

191 

This  gives  an  idea  to  what  extent  the  coal  companies  are 
real  estate  agents  renting  dwellings  to  their  employees.  The 
list  is  not  complete ;  there  are  possibly  a  few  hundred  dwellings 
owned  by  coal  operators  which  have  not  been  tabulated. 
About  16  per  cent.  *  of  the  houses  in  which  the  mine  workers 
live  is  owned  by  the  companies  for  whom  the  men  work. 
The  rent  for  the  house  is  kept  each  month  at  the  office,  and  if 
the  company  sees  fit  it  can  not  only  discharge  the  man  from 
his  work,  but  also  evict  him,  which  in  many  instances  means 
departure  from  the  town  or  village,  every  inch  of  which  is 
owned  by  the  company.  This  was  done  in  several  instances 
after  the  last  strike  on  the  Hazleton  mountain,  and  the  evicted 
had  to  seek  other  shelter  while  their  furniture  was  piled  by  the 
sheriff  on  the  public  highway. 

All  sections  of  the  anthracite  coal  fields  are  not  equally 

under  the  sovereignty  of  the  coal  operators  as  to  houses  and 

land.     In  the  Northern  coal  field  employers  of  labor  have  not 

hemmed  in  their  employees  on  all  sides  so  as  to  preclude  any 

attempt  on  their  part  to  possess  real  estate.     All  the  houses 

~^  *  In  the  Report  of  the  Anthracite  Coal  Strike  Commission,  page  43,  we 
read  :  ''So  far  as  could  be  ascertained,  the  facts  show  that  in  the  Northern 
and  Southern  coal  fields  less  than  10  per  cent,  of  the  employees  rent  their 
houses  from  the  employing  companies,  while  in  the  Middle  coal  fields  a  little 
less  than  35  per  cent,  of  employees  so  rent  their  houses."  This  is  not  accu- 
rate. Company  houses  are  not  so  numerous  in  the  Northern  as  in  the 
Southern  and  Middle  coal  fields.  In  the  Middle  coal  field  the  percentage 
of  employees  living  in  company  houses  is  not  35.  In  the  Fifth  District  only 
do  we  find  the  percentage  of  employees  living  in  company  houses  large  and 
there  it  is  about  45  per  cent. 


Of  THE 

USsilVERSlTY 

OF 


MINE   EMPLOYEES   AT   HOME.  123 

rented  by  companies  in  the  Lackawanna  and  Wyoming  valleys 
would  not  exceed  1,500,  or  about  3  per  cent,  of  the  houses 
occupied  by  the  mine  employees  in  this  territory.  These  coal 
companies  have  sold  building  lots  upon  which  houses  are  built 
and  the  wage  earners  feel  that  they  have  something  to  live  for 
besides  digging  coal.  A  sense  of  responsibility  also  comes 
with  the  possession  of  real  estate,  and  the  man  who  builds  a 
house,  plants  trees  and  cultivates  a  garden  is  a  better  employee 
and  citizen.  The  formation  of  the  coal  basin  in  the  Wyoming 
and  Lackawanna  valleys  has  something  to  do  with  the  freedom 
given  there  to  individual  enterprise.  The  basin  is  one  con- 
tinuous whole,  and  towns  have  grown  on  every  part  of  it,  so 
that  to-day  from  Forest  City  on  the  extreme  north  to  Shick- 
shinny  on  the  extreme  south,  a  continuous  series  of  towns  con- 
nected by  steam  and  trolley  railroads  are  found.  In  the  Middl^ 
and  Southern  coal  fields  it  is  different.  Here  many  of  the  coal 
basins  are  small  and  scattered.  This  favors  isolation,  and  a 
company  possessing  one  of  these  basins  has  a  property  which 
may  be  wholly  separated  from  all  neighboring  towns.  Upon 
this  basin,  owned  entirely  by  the  coal  operator,  a  town  grows 
which  stands  alone  in  the  mountains,  far  removed  from  any 
town  or  city  where  freedom  is  given  to  individual  enterprise. 
The  best  illustration  of  this  is  the  towns  which  have  been 
planted  on  the  Hazleton  mountain  where  the  independent 
operators  thrive.  The  map  on  page  244  shows  the  number  of 
small  towns  owned  by  the  coal  operators  clustering  around 
Hazleton  and  Freeland  which  virtually  are  the  only  two  spots 
on  the  mountain  where  individual  freedom  and  enterprise  are 
given  free  play.  In  all  the  other  mining  camps,  with  very 
rare  exceptions,  every  inch  of  the  ground  and  every  house  is 
owned  by  the  independent  companies.  In  these  places  also  the 
company  stores  flourish  most  vigorously,  and,  notwithstanding 
legal  attempts  to  abolish  them,  they  still  exist.  The  land 
monopoly  possessed  by  the  company  gives  them  a  great  advan- 
tage, for  no  one  from  without  can  enter  these  mining  towns  and 
secure  a  foothold  on  which  he  can  offer  the  necessaries  of  life 
for  sale  to  the  inhabitants. 


124  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

In  Schuylkill  county  there  are  many  localities  in  precisel; 
the  same  condition,  but  the  evil  does  not  exist  to  so  great  a 
extent  as  in  the  Fifth  District.     Within  a  radius  of  three  mile 
of  Mahanoy  City  there  are  fifteen  small  mining  villages  wher 
all  the  houses  are  rented  by  the  company,  and  in  four  of  thee 
the  company  store  is  also  present.     In  mining  camps  outsid 
the  boroughs  of  Shamokin^  Mt.  Carmel,  Shenandoah,  Ashland 
Miners ville  and  Potts ville  the  same  is  true.     The  superin 
tendent   of   public    schools  in  Mahanoy  township  speaks  a 
follows  :  "  While  we  have  nearly  2,000  taxables  and  more  thai 
1,200  voters  within  our  borders,  we  have  not  a  single  free 
holder  in  the  township,   ninety-eight  per   cent,   of  the  mal< 
working  population  being  employed  in  or  about  the  mines  anc 
hence  constantly  changing."     What  was  there  to  prevent  con- 
stant changes  ?     A  person  who  can  acquire  no  property  car 
have  no  other  interest  but  to  work  as  little  and  consume  aj 
much  as  possible.     What  inducement  is  there  to  these  men  tc 
stay  when  no  opportunity  is  offered  them  to  raise  their  status  ic 
society  ?    There  are  no  interests  which  these  men  can  pursue  out- 
side the  daily  routine  of  the  mines,  and  there  is  no  opportunity 
given  them  to  invest  whatever  money  they  might  save.     Health- 
ful competition  between  neighbors  is  precluded,  for  none  will 
take  interest  in  a  house  or  garden  from  which  he  may  be  evicted 
at  the  good  pleasure  of  the  company  which  furnishes  him  work 
whereby  he  and  his  family  subsist.     Individual  possession  has 
ever  reacted  upon  the  birth-rate,  but  in  these  towns  the  tenants 
are  not  given  the  opportunity  to  feel  the  wholesome  restraint 
exerted  upon  passion  and  emotion  by  personal  possession.     It 
seems  incredible  that  men  of  keen  insight  would  so  forget  the 
dictates  of  ordinary  prudence  as  to  shut  off  their  employees 
from  opportunities  of  self-improvement  or  self-advancement 
which  would  be  their  safest  guarantee  of  good  workmanship 
and  moral  conduct.     This  system  of  capitalistic  greed  accounts 
for  the  ease  with  which  the  population  of  certain  localities  has 
changed  in  recent  years.     There  was  nothing  to  bind  the  workers 
to  the  soil  and,  being  forced  to  leave  when  their  demands  for 
personal  and   economic  rights  gave  offense  to  the  operators, 


MINE    EMPLOYEES   AT   HOME.  126 

their  places  were  taken  by  a  lower  grade  of  labor,  which  to-day 
largely  occupies  the  homes  possessed  by  coal  operators. 

The  quality  of  the  company  houses  varies  greatly.  The  two 
accompanying  pictures  give  the  extremes.  In  Luzerne,  Schuyl- 
kill and  Northumberland  counties,  the  assessors  classify  many  of 
these  miners'  dwellings  as  "  shanties  "  and  assess  them  at  from 
$10  to  $25.  For  these  the  companies  charge  from  $1.75  to  $3 
per  month.  No  repairing  is  done  to  them  and  it  has  been  the 
policy  of  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Company  to  destroy 
these  shells  when  they  are  vacated.  But  the  vacating  seldom 
happens  and  the  company  keeps  on  collecting  the  rent.  Shanties 
have  only  one  story  and  a  garret,  and  sometimes  the  first  floor 
has  only  one  room.  An  additional  small  shed  is  frequently 
built  into  which  the  cooking  stove  may  be  removed  in  summer. 

Over  50  per  cent,  of  the  company  houses  are  assessed  from 
$10  to  $100.  These  are  poor  dwellings  and  ill  afford  the 
shelter  needed  by  the  tenants  in  the  cold  of  winter.  They  are 
built  of  hemlock  boards  with  weather  strips  nailed  over  the 
crevices.  No  plastering,  no  ceiling  and  no  wall  paper  are  fur- 
nished. The  best  of  them  contain  two  rooms  on  the  first  floor 
and  one  on  the  second.  They  are  generally  tenanted  by  Sclavs. 
Many  of  these  are  veritable  shells  of  two  rooms  16  x  16  feet  for 
which  the  tenant  pays  $4  a  month.  One  of  the  men  told  us  : 
"  Me  cannot  keep  warm  in  winter,"  and  if  the  members  of  that 
company  were  not  rendered  impervious  by  greed  to  the  demands 
of  humanity  they  would  not  ask  these  men  to  dwell  in  these 
shells  during  the  winter  season.  This  company  had  in  the 
patch  thirty  such  houses  for  which  it  charged  from  $4  to  $6  a 
month.  By  a  liberal  computation,  the  cost  of  erection  would 
not  exceed  $400  or  $500  per  double  house,  so  that  the  property 
yielded  from  25  per  cent,  to  30  per  cent,  annually.  A  miner 
who  had  lived  in  one  of  this  company ^s  houses  for  thirteen 
years  said  that  during  that  time  no  repairs  had  been  done  by 
the  company.     He  had  to  do  them  himself. 

In  the  care  of  company  houses  no  rule  can  be  laid  down. 
The  same  company  deals  differently  with  the  different  grades 
of  houses  in  its  possession.     The  Philadelphia  and  Reading, 


126 


ANTHRACITE   COAL    COMMUNITIES. 


the  Lehigh  and  Wilkesbarre  and  the  Cross  Creek  Coal  Com 
panies  have  many  dwellings  which  are  classified  as  shanties  an 
which  rent  for  from  $1.75  to  $2  a  month.  These  are  not  fi 
habitations  for  men.  The  companies  admit  they  do  not  spen 
anything  in  repairs  on  them.  If  the  tenants  wish  to  live  i 
them  and  do  what  repairs  they  may  so  as  to  make  them  ten 
antable,  they  may  do  so  ;  if  not  they  may  vacate  them  and  th 
shanties  are  torn  down.  Torn  down  they  ought  to  be  in  an; 
case,  for  the  drunkard  or  the  curmudgeon  ought  not  to  have  th 
opportunity  to  pen  his  family  in  a  miserable  hut  in  order  tha 
he  may  spend  more  in  drink  or  save  the  dollar  which  should  h 
spent  in  securing  proper  shelter  for  the  family. 

The  following  list  of  houses  rented  by  Coxe  Bros.  &  Co 
gives  a  fair  idea  of  the  class  of  houses  rented  to  mine  employee." 
on  the  Hazleton  mountains. 


Number  of  Houses. 

Rental  per  Month. 

Number  of  Houses. 

Rental  per  Month. 

4 

$1.00 

20 

$3.75 

29 

1.50 

348 

4.00 

44 

2.00 

24 

4.50 

25 

2.75 

28 

4.60 

10 

3.00 

45 

4.75 

13 

3.25 

131 

5.00 

10 

3.50 

119 

5.50 

Total  houses  rented. 


850 


According  to  the  assessed  valuation  of  these  houses  42  per 
cent,  of  them  was  rated  at  from  $20  to  $50 ;  14  per  cent,  at 
$100  ;  8  per  cent,  at  from  $150  to  $175;  3  per  cent,  at  $200 ; 
16  per  cent,  at  $300,  and  the  remaining  15  per  cent,  at  $400 
and  over.  In  the  last  group  are  found  the  houses  in  which  the 
foremen,  clerks,  officials,  etc.,  of  the  company  live.  In  the 
other  groups  are  the  houses  in  which  the  workingmen  live  and 
the  best  are  assessed  at  $300.  The  rule  in  these  communities 
is  to  assess  real  estate  at  one  fourth  its  market  value,  so  that 
the  market  value  of  the  best  of  these  houses  would  be  $1,200 
for  a  double  house,  while  half  of  them  fall  below  the  $400 
mark.  The  company  realizes  14  per  cent,  annually  on  the  best 
houses,  but  its  returns  from  the  miserable  old  shacks  which  were 
built  from  40  to  60  years  ago  is  much  higher.     A  computation 


MINE   EMPLOYEES   AT    HOME. 


127 


of  the  annual  rentals  and  the  market  value  of  all  the  houses 
makes  the  returns  of  the  company  between  18  and  20  per  cent, 
per  annum. 

The  following  is  a  classification  of  houses  owned  and  con- 
trolled by  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Com- 
pany : 

Monthly  Kent. 


Number  of 
Houses. 

Number  of  Rooms 
in  House. 

Highest 

Lowest. 

TotaL 

Average. 

6 

2 

$3.00 

$1.50 

$12.50 

$2.08 

469 

3 

4.00 

1.00 

1,319.40 

2.81 

1,115 

4 

6.00 

1.00 

4,218.23 

3.78 

269 

5 

9.00 

1.00 

1,231.30 

4.58 

85 

6 

9.00 

1.25 

430.75 

5.07 

89 

Over  6  and 
up  to  12. 

16.00 

4.00 

722.00 

8.11 

In  November,  when  this  statement  was  compiled,  the  total 
number  of  houses  owned  and  controlled  by  the  company  was 
2,217  ;  number  occupied  by  employees,  1,793;  number  occu- 
pied by  others,  240  ;  number  occupied  by  indigent  persons  and 
widows  for  whom  no  rent  was  charged,  47 ,  and  137  of  the 
houses  were  vacant.  The  total  monthly  rentals  of  the  com- 
pany amounted  to  $7,934.68.  Of  the  employees  of  the  Phila- 
delphia and  Reading  7.3  per  cent,  lived  in  company  houses, 
while  3,284  or  13.3  per  cent,  owned  their  homes.  Of  the 
above  houses  about  50  per  cent,  of  them  rent  from  $1.75  to  $3 
a  month ;  40  per  cent,  from  $4  to  $6,  and  the  remaining  10 
per  cent,  for  $7  and  over.  When  one  of  the  officials  of  this 
company  was  asked  why  the  company  did  not  plaster  the 
houses,  he  replied :  "  It's  no  use,  it  wouldn't  last  a  year."  Small 
repairs  to  windows,  doors,  etc.,  are  left  to  the  tenants  themselves 
in  houses  which  do  not  bring  more  than  $4  a  month  rent.  Car- 
penters are  sent  around  the  houses  to  do  needed  repairs  about 
once  every  three  years.  Seventeen  per  cent,  of  the  total  ren- 
tals is  spent  in  repairs.  The  Philadelphia  and  Reading  seldom 
ejects  a  tenant  because  of  arrears  in  rent.  Some  tenants  are 
known  to  have  owed  the  company  over  four  years'  rent  and 
still  they  were  permitted  to  occupy  the  houses.  Rents  are  gen- 
erally higher  under  the  individual  companies  than  under  the 


128  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

large  companies.     The  class  of  houses  for  which  the  Phil 

delphia  and  Reading  Company  charges  $5  and  $6  a  month  is  i 

and  $8  under  individual  companies.     Rents  of  houses  have  be* 

reduced  as  the  properties  have  passed  into  the  hands  of  lar; 

corporations.     The  Lehigh  and  Wilkesbarre  follows  the  ru 

of  ejecting  those  who  will  not  pay  the  rent  for  two  consecuti^ 

months.     This  company  rents  about  450  houses  on  the  Hazl 

ton  mountains,  charging  $2.50  for  shanties  and  $4  and  $5  f 

houses  of  4  and  5  rooms.     The  Van  Wickle  estate  rents  abo 

300    houses  and  charges    from    $3    to    $5   a  month,  accori 

ing  to  grade.     In  Milnesville,  this  company  gave  its  tenan 

free  coal,  which  was  not  done  to  the  employees  of  the  san 

company  living  in  its  houses  at  Coalraine  and  Evans.     Ca; 

penters  are  sent  by  this  company  around  the  property  once 

year  to  do  any  repairs  which  might  be  needed.     Its  rule  ah 

is  not  to  collect  rent  from  widows  of  men  killed  in  its  mine 

All  through  these  coal  fields  there  is  no  fixed  rule  for  rei 

tals.     Under  the  same  company,  houses  vary  in  rent  when 

is  hard  to  see  why  the  difference  is  made.     On  the  Hazleto 

mountain  the  rule  generally  is  that  $1  a  month  is  charged  pe 

room.     Great  variation   prevails.     In    Silver   Brook  3-rooi 

houses  rent  for  $4.50,  and  houses  with  5  rooms  and  an  atti 

for  $7  a  month.     The  Lehigh  Valley  charged  $6  for  4-rooi 

houses,  but  it  also  sold  12  tons  of  coal  per  year  to  its  tenant 

for  $1  a  ton.*     Rents  under  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  ai 

regulated  according  to  floor  space  and  convenience  to  markei 

They  range  from  $1.75  to  $15  a  month.     Under  the  Millcree" 

Coal  Company  commodious  houses  are  furnished  their  employee 

for  from  $6  to  $8  a  month,  while  another  individual  company  no 

far  distant  charges  from  $5  to  $6  for  shells  which  do  not  kee- 

out  the  wind  and  drifting  snow  of  winter,  and  around  the  bas 

of  which  the  tenants  pile  ashes  to  keep  out  the  wind  whicl 

comes  under  the  floor  between  the  frame  and  the  blocks  upoi 

which  the  houses  rest.     No  cellar,  no  foundation,  no  plaster 

ing,  no  paper,  no  ceiling,  simply  the  frame  with  rough  hemlocl 

*  The  company  now  charges  its  employees  market  rates  for  all  the  coa 
they  buy. 


R  A' 
OF  THE 


UNlVERSiTY 

OF 


MINE   EMPLOYEES   AT    HOME.  129 

boards  nailed  upright  and  strips  fastened  over  the  joints.  On 
a  cold  winter's  night,  one  of.  the  fathers  dwelling  in  one  of 
these  houses,  was  awakened  by  the  cry  of  his  children  who 
were  cold  and  could  not  sleep.  Two  stoves  were  kept  burn- 
ing, but  the  cold  could  not  be  kept  out  by  such  a  dwelling  on 
a  blustering  winter's  night  on  the  mountains  of  Schuylkill. 

The  lower  grade  of  company  houses,  as  above  stated,  are  to- 
day occupied  by  Sclavs  and  in  many  of  them  there  is  crowd- 
ing. Under  the  Dodson  Coal  Company  in  Morea  there  are 
two  groups  of  dwellings.  The  one  on  the  northwest  of  the 
colliery  comprises  106  dwellings  which  are  inhabited  by  Eng- 
lish-speaking people,  and  have  on  an  average  5.1  to  the  house. 
On  the  southeast  side  is  a  patch  of  30  dwellings  wholly  ten- 
anted by  Sclavs  and  having  between  9  and  10  persons  to  the 
dwelling.  Here,  when  the  colliery  is  in  full  operation,  it  is 
nothing  unusual  to  have  from  6  to  8  boarders  in  the  same 
house.  Every  morning  more  adult  mine  employees  respond 
to  the  gong  of  the  breaker  from  the  30  dwellings  on  the  east 
side  than  from  the  106  on  the  north.  The  same  is  true  in  other 
mining  camps.  The  Lytic  Coal  Company  rents  140  houses ; 
many  of  these  have  been  built  recently  and  are  good  specimens 
of  workingmen's  dwellings  of  5  and  6  rooms,  garret  and  cellar, 
which  rent  for  $7  and  $8  a  month.  But  the  older  dwellings 
occupied  by  Sclavs  rent  for  from  $2  to  $4  and  are  for  the  most 
part  fit  only  for  the  fire.  These  people  pay  high  rent  if  com- 
puted by  the  floor  room  they  possess.  In  Lattimer  there  are 
two  mine  patches.  In  the  one  to  the  east  of  the  mines  sub- 
stantial houses  of  4  rooms,  a  garret  and  a  cellar  are  rented  for 
$5  a  month,  but  on  the  west  of  the  colliery  are  old  shacks, 
comprised  of  only  2  rooms  (10  ft.  by  12  ft.  and  10  ft.  by  7 
ft.)  for  which  the  company  charges  $2  and  $3  a  month.  One 
of  these  tenants,  an  Italian,  desiring  more  room,  built  an  addi- 
tion at  an  expense  of  $40  for  which  the  company  allowed  him 
nothing. 

Many  companies  in  recent  years  have  built  houses  for  their 
employees  but  in  every  instance  they  are  far  better  dwellings 
than  those  which  were  put  up  in  the  early  years  of  mining. 
10 


130 


ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 


This  is  true  of  the  houses  built  by  the  Coxe  Bros,  at  Drifk> 
by  the  Markle  Co.  at  Japan  and  Ebervale,  and  by  the  Lyt 
Coal  Co.  at  Minersville,  while  some  of  the  cottages  put  up  I 
the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company,  a 
model  dwellings.  "  Bosses'  Row ''  in  Maple  Hill,  erected  1: 
the  latter  company,  contains  commodious  dwellings,  but  tl 
agent  having  these  in  charge  said  that  the  investment  did  not  n^ 
the  company  6  per  cent,  per  annum.  One  thing  is  patent,  tl 
better  houses  erected  in  recent  years  by  these  companies  c 
not  pay  so  large  a  dividend  as  the  miserable  shanties  built  ha 
a  century  ago. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  houses  erected  by  the  above  con 
pany  in  recent  years  for  some  of  its  employees. 


Place. 

Number  of 
Houses. 

Average  Cost 
of  Building. 

Eooms  in 
House. 

Rent  per 
Month. 

Ellengowen 

5 
10 
13 

16 
10 

$984.48 

811.33 

1,355.87 

1,158.04 

838.00 

8 
6 
8 
9 

7 

$9.00 
6  00 

Eagle  Hill 

Silver  Creek 

8  50 

Maple  Hill 

9  00 

9.00 

But  in  building  new  houses  we  do  not  find  uniformity.  A 
individual  company  in  Schuylkill  county  turned  an  old  bar 
into  three  dwellings  for  the  Sclavs.  The  men  called  it  th 
"barracks."  Each  of  the  houses  had  three  rooms,  two  c 
which  were  about  16  feet  square ;  from  this  converted  bar 
the  company  reaped  $18  a  month  rent. 

The  shells  and  shanties  in  which  so  many  of  our  people  liv 
are  cold  in  winter  and  warm  in  summer.  When  some  of  thes 
people  were  asked  how  they  managed  to  sleep  in  them  in  th 
summer  months  they  replied  that  they  did  not  sleep  in  then 
Some  sleep  on  the  roof.  Most  of  these  people  build  some  kin 
of  a  shed  in  the  open  lot  and  sleep  there.  Mosquitoes  troubl 
a  little,  but  these  are  more  tolerable  than  the  enemies  withir 
A  mason  who  had  occasion  to  repair  a  chimney  in  one  of  th 
houses  occupied  by  a  Hungarian  said,  "You  could  shove 
them.''  There  is  no  denying  the  fact  that  even  the  rigor  o 
winter  cannot  destroy  all  life  in  these  shells  where  dirt  an< 
filth  accumulate. 


MINE  EMPLOYEES  AT  HOME.  131 

We  have  spoken  of  the  company  houses  in  the  Middle  and 
Southern  coal  fields  especially,  for  in  these  sections  of  our  terri- 
tory this  evil  is  most  prevalent.  There  are  miserable  shanties 
in  the  Northern  coal  fields,  but  their  number  is  insignificant  as 
compared  with  that  of  the  above-mentioned  regions.  Scranton 
Flats  near  Wilkesbarre,  and  rows  of  company  houses  in  Ply- 
mouth and  Nanticoke  are  dreary  and  wretched.  The  Dela- 
ware, Lackawanna  and  Western  rents  284  houses,  the  monthly 
rent  ranging  from  $2  to  $8.  The  Hillside  Coal  and  Iron 
Company  rents  107  houses,  the  average  rental  per  month  being 
$5.40  and  the  average  number  of  rooms  to  the  house  5.8.  The 
Delaware  and  Hudson  rents  about  150  houses  which  have  on 
an  average  five  rooms  and  the  rents  range  from  $4  to  $8  a 
month.  Many  of  the  individual  companies  in  the  Wyoming 
and  Lackawanna  valleys  rent  houses  but,  as  above  stated,  the 
evil  does  not  prevail  as  it  does  in  the  Hazleton  and  Schuylkill 
regions.  Greater  opportunity  has  been  given  to  individual 
enterprise,  and  a  far  greater  percentage  of  the  mine  employees 
in  the  Northern  coal  fields  own  their  homes  than  in  the  Middle 
and  Southern. 

A  system  of  leasing  ground  for  building  purposes  also  pre- 
vails under  many  companies.  The  Lytle  company  has  178 
such  leases,  the  lessor  paying  from  $1  to  $10  a  year  for  the 
use  of  the  land  according  to  the  size  of  the  claim.  Some  of 
the  companies  on  the  Hazleton  mountain  do  this.  Calvin  Par- 
dee does  so,  charging  fifty  cents  a  month  rent  for  the  land 
which  is  ample  for  a  dwelling  and  a  garden  large  enough  to 
supply  the  family  with  vegetables.  The  same  is  done  by  some 
of  the  companies  in  the  Northern  coal  fields.  The  Erie  Co., 
the  Delaware  and  Hudson,  the  Susquehanna  Coal  Co.,  etc., 
lease  land  on  which  their  employees  build  houses.  The  Phila- 
delphia and  Reading,  however,  does  this  on  a  larger  scale  than 
any  other  company.  In  the  Tremont  valley,  many  of  their  old 
employees  have  held  claims  for  years  and  their  small  farms  are 
a  source  of  profit  and  pleasure  to  the  mine  workers.  The  same 
is  true  of  other  sections  where  small  farms  are  held  by  men 
who  earn  their  chief  subsistence  by  cutting  coal.      In  the 


132  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

neighborhood  of  Silverton,  where  the  same  practice  prevails, 
is  nothing  unusual  to  find  families  who  have  resided  in  tl 
same  place  for  the  last  fifty  years.  During  the  strike  of  19C 
many  of  these  employees  of  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  wei 
better  able  to  carry  on  the  struggle  than  their  brethren  ( 
populous  towns  and  cities,  for  the  reason  that  they  had  tl: 
produce  of  their  small  farms  to  fall  back  upon. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  miserable  shacks  found  in  many  mir 
ing  camps.  It  must  not  be  supposed  that  these  patches  are  ur 
healthy  habitations  for  men.  It  is  difficult  for  the  tenants  1 
make  these  places  unsanitary.  They  are  generally  perched  o 
the  mountain  side ;  the  double  houses  are  generally  detached  an 
form  long  rows,  while  on  all  sides  lies  the  open  mountaii 
There  is  no  restriction  for  room,  while  an  abundant  supply  c 
sunshine  and  pure  air  is  found.  No  healthier  spots  for  huma 
habitations  can  be  imagined  than  these  mining  camps  amon 
the  mountains,  and  whatever  diseases  prevail  are  largely  du 
either  to  the  lack  of  ordinary  precaution  or  the  total  neglect  c 
the  rules  of  sanitation.  Gross  negligence  is  often  observed  i 
this  regard.  On  one  of  our  peregrinations  in  the  summer  to 
camp  occupied  wholly  by  Sclavs,  one  of  the  directors  of  th 
company  advised  us  to  eat  our  supper  before  we  visited  it 
The  advice  was  judicious  for  the  rancid  stench  that  surrounde* 
those  dwellings  clung  to  our  nostrils  long  after  we  left  the  camp 
Every  tenant  did  as  the  dwellers  in  the  kitchen  middens  wer 
wont  to  do  :  the  offal,  the  dish-water,  the  suds  from  washing 
and  even  the  excretions  of  the  human  body  were  thrown  fron 
the  door  or  window  of  the  dwelling,  and  all  this  filth  in  th 
glare  of  the  summer's  sun,  gave  rise  to  an  effluvia  that  wa 
sickening.  What  wonder  is  there  that  under  such  condition 
the  death-rate  of  the  slums  is  found  here  on  the  mountain  heights 
--^  Another  84  per  cent,  of  the  mine  employees  live  in  house; 
(  owned  by  private  parties.  Many  of  these  are  owned  by  th» 
miners  themselves.  The  houses  have  on  an  average  six  rooms 
They  are  built  with  better  taste  than  the  uniformity  whicl 
dominates  company  houses,  while  they  are  invariably  paintec 
in  a  light  cheerful  color,  which  stands  in  striking  contrast  wit! 


MINE  EMPLOYEES  AT  HOME.  133 

the  dull  red  paint  which  generally  adorns  the  company  house. 
What  a  contrast  there  is  between  the  niggardliness  of  coal  com- 
panies when  they  erect  homes  for  the  people,  and  the  taste  of 
the  men  themselves  when  they  put  up  their  own  dwellings  ! 
The  dull  monotony  of  a  mining  village  is  oppressive.  Sixty 
double  houses  may  often  be  seen  uniformly  built  and  placed  in 
two  or  three  rows ;  all  of  them  with  slanting  roof  over  the 
kitchen  ;  no  porch,  not  the  faintest  attempt  at  decoration  in  any 
part  of  them ;  each  block  speaks  of  parsimony  in  its  construc- 
tion ;  the  impression  comes  with  irresistible  force  that  these 
houses  were  built  for  rent.  The  homes  owned  by  mine  employees 
differ ;  they  have  a  porch,  and  the  windows  and  doors  have 
something  to  break  the  monotony,  while  invariably  there  is  a 
side  door  and  small  porch.  Then  the  house  has  as  many  rooms 
on  the  second  floor  as  on  the  first",  which  give  the  dwelling  a 
more  symmetrical  appearance.  The  gable  is  generally  adorned, 
while  there  is  invariably  a  coping  crowning  the  roof.  Two  or 
three  harmonious  colors  are  generally  used  in  painting  which 
give  the  house  an  appearance  of  comfort  and  liberality.  These 
houses  rent  at  from  $6  to  $10  a  month,  according  as  they 
are  located  in  greater  or  less  proximity  to  populous  towns 
or  cities. 

As  before  stated,  better  opportunity  for  individual  owner- 
ship has  been  afforded  in  some  sections  of  the  coal  fields  than 
others.  The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  has  not  built 
many  houses  in  Williamstown  and  Lykens,  in  Dauphin  county. 
It  only  has  about  fifty  houses  all  told  in  both  places,  which  are 
built  for  the  convenience  of  employees  who  are  thus  in  close 
proximity  to  the  collieries  and  can  be  quickly  summoned  in 
case  of  emergency.  This  company  also,  in  former  years,  re- 
fused to  join  the  other  railroads,  commanding  the  tonnage  of 
the  coal  fields,  to  curtail  production,  so  that  for  the  last  20  or 
25  years  its  employees  have  had  steady  work  and  have  been 
able  to  earn  good  wages.  The  result  is  that  the  towns  of 
Lykens  and  Williamstown  have  been  mostly  built  by  mine 
employees,  and  a  larger  percentage  of  these  men  own  their 
homes  than  in  any  other  section  of  the  coal  fields. 


134  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

In  the  Panther  Creek  Valley,  where  the  Lehigh  Coal  an< 
Navigation  Company  carries  on  its  operation,  while  the  com 
pany  rents  330  houses  to  its  employees,  ample  opportunity  ha 
been  afforded  to  the  enterprising  and  thrifty  worker  to  secur 
a  lot  and  build  a  home  of  his  own.*  The  result  is  that  out  o: 
3,043  families  from  whom  the  company  gets  its  employees,  87< 
or  27  per  cent,  of  them  own  their  homes.  In  sections  o: 
Schuylkill  and  on  the  Hazleton  mountains  individual  ownershi] 
is  out  of  the  question.  The  coal  companies  own  all  and  hole 
all.  In  Cass  township,  out  of  a  total  of  1,170  taxable  persons 
no  miner  or  laborer  owns  any  real  estate.  It  is  a  significan 
fact  that  this  township  was  the  chief  center  of  activity  of  the 
Mollie  Maguires,  and  in  recent  years  it  has  furnished  mon 
paupers,  according  to  its  population,  than  any  other  section  of 
Schuylkill  county.  In  the  township  of  Mahanoy  not  one  oi 
the  1,200  electors  there  owns  real  estate.  In  Hazle  townshij 
there  are  over  2,500  taxables,  nearly  all  of  which  are  in  th( 
hands  of  the  companies.  In  the  towns  of  Freeland  and  Hazle- 
ton individual  enterprise  has  been  given  free  scope  and  twc 
thriving  towns  are  the  result. 

This  restriction  of  individual  efforts  in  securing  homes  is 
apparent  in  the  number  of  hired  houses  in  the  three  counties 
dependent  on  the  anthracite  coal  industry.  In  Lackawanna 
there  are  56  per  cent,  hired  houses ;  in  Luzerne  county  64  per 
cent.,  and  in  Schuylkill  63.6  per  cent.,  which  shows  that  8  per 
cent,  more  families  live  in  hired  houses  in  the  two  latter 
counties  than  in  the  former.  Taking  Lackawanna  county  we 
find  that  it  compares  favorably  with  other  counties  as  to  the 
number  who  own  their  own  homes;  in  Lackawanna  44  per 
cent.;  in  Berks  41  per  cent.;  in  Susquehanna  47  per  cent.;  in 
Clearfield  49  per  cent.,  and  in  Westmoreland  41  per  cent.  In 
the  computation  we  have  left  out  the  farms  and  made  the  com- 
parison only  of  "  other  houses  "  as  given  in  the  census.  In  all 
Pennsylvania  41.2  per  cent,  of  the  families  owned  their  homes, 

*  In  Lansf^rd,  land  is  at  a  premium  to-day.  The  few  lots  still  available 
for  building  purposes  cost  from  |30  to  $50  foot  front,  which  accounts  for  the 
fact  that  few  Sclavs  have  built  homes  in  this  borough. 


MINE   EMPLOYEES   AT    HOME.  135 

of  which  26.8  per  cent,  were  free  and  14.4  per  cent,  encumbered. 
In  Northumberland  county,  of  11,293  adult  mine  employees, 
1,488  or  13  per  cent,  owned  their  homes.  Of  the  1,488 
homes,  854  or  57.4  per  cent,  were  mortgaged  and  634  or  42.6 
per  cent.  free.  This  gives  about  31.4  per  cent,  of  the  families 
of  mine  workers  in  this  county  who  own  their  homes,  of  which 
18  per  cent,  were  mortgaged  and  13.4  per  cent.  free.  ~^ 

The  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  found  that  28  per     ] 
cent,  of  its  employees  owned  real  estate.     In  a  computation      1 
made  by  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  Company  the  per-      I 
centage  was  about  29,  and  their  holdings  aggregated  $1,322,- 
161.     The  same  spirit  of  enterprise  is  seen  everywhere  in  the 
Wyoming  and  Lackawanna  valleys.     The  mine  workers  are 
given  an  opportunity  to  buy  a  lot  and  build  a  home,  and  they 
do  so  to  as  great  an  extent  as  any  class  of  employees  of  equal 
earning  capacity.     The  Sclav  has  shown  remarkable  avidity  in 
this  regard.     In  the  mining  towns  north  of  Scranton,  including 
Dickson  City,  Priceburg,  Throop,  Blakely,  Olyphant,   Peck- 
ville.   Ridge,   Jessup  and  Archbald,  there  are   4,000  houses 
owned  by  individual  property  owners  ;  of  these  1,700  or  possi-     * 
bly  43  per  cent,  are  owned  by  Sclavs  or  the  non-English-speak- 
ing population,  all  of  which  has  been  attained  in  the  last  ten  or\,  / 
fifteen  years.     This  readiness  of  the  Sclav  to  secure  a  home  is  ' 
apparent  all  through  the  Northern  coal  fields  and  it  is  a  loss  to 
society  that  greater  opportunity  is  not  given  these  men  in  the 
Middle  and  Southern  coal  fields  to  secure  homes  and  attain  the 
blessings  which  come  by  individual  ownership  of  part  of  the 
soil.     The  Philadelphia  and  Reading  has  done  much  by  its\ 
employees,  but  its  refusal  to  sell  land  to  them  has  materially 
reduced  the  percentage  of  its  workmen  owning  real  estate, 
while  the  policy  of  the  individual  owners  on  the  Hazleton 
mountain  has  been  to  exclude  all  private  ownership  from  its 
holdings.     One  of  the  reasons  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading 
advances  for  not  selling  building  lots  is,  that  the  surface  when 
undermined  is  liable  to  cave  in  and  it  cannot  afford  to  assume 
the  responsibility  of  keeping  the  surface  intact  or  pay  damages 
to  property  owners  in  case  of  a  cave-in.     There  is  reason  in 


136  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

this  argument.  The  board  of  directors  of  Mahanoy  townshij 
in  1900  sought  a  site  for  its  high  school  building,  and  the  prin- 
cipal reports  :  "  Ramified  by  a  net-work  of  mines  it  is  simpl} 
impossible  to  secure  a  safe  and  desirable  location  for  a  schoo" 
building ;  .  .  .  over  two  miles  of  ground  we  sought  a  suitable 
location  and  were  at  last  brought  to  the  alternative  of  abandon- 
ing the  proposed  building  or  accepting  the  present  undesirable 
site."  Still  the  fact  remains  that  the  company  houses  have 
stood  for  over  half  a  century,  and  some  system  should  be  de- 
vised to  give  the  mine  workers  of  these  localities  an  interest  in 
the  soil. 

The  Condition  of  Woman  Therein. 

In  every  institution  there  must  be  an  ultimate  source  of 
authority,  and  in  every  family  the  question  "who  is  chief" 
must  be  settled  if  the  home  is  to  be  one  of  peace  and  order. 

In  the  miner's  home  there  is  little  room  for  sentiment,  and 
among  these  practical  people  the  husband  is  generally  lord  of 
the  home,  and  the  wife  must  hold  herself  in  subjection  to  him. 
Division  of  labor  is  practiced  to  the  strictest  detail.  The  hus- 
band is  the  bread  winner.  All  work  in  the  home  belongs  to 
the  wife,  and  if  the  husband  lights  an  extinguished  fire,  or 
cares  for  the  stoves,  or  "  minds  "  the  baby  or  aids  in  the  prep- 
aration of  the  meal,  he  "  helps  "  his  wife  and  speaks  of  work 
of  this  nature  exactly  as  if  he  had  given  a  helping  hand  to  his 
neighbor.  If  the  wife  neglects  the  household  duties,  by  not 
preparing  the  evening  meal  on  time  or  not  having  the  water 
ready  for  the  daily  ablutions,  she  is  called  to  account  and  dis- 
ciplined. The  husband  generally  gives  the  wife  his  pay  and 
expects  her  to  make  good  use  of  it.  Many  of  them  hold  their 
helpmeet  to  a  strict  account  in  the  items  of  expenditure  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  institution.  As  a  rule  the  words  of 
Napoleon  are  believed  and  practiced  in  the  houses  of  the  mine 
workers :  "  A  husband  ought  to  have  absolute  rule  over  the 
actions  of  his  wife." 

This  has  been  the  code  by  which  the  homes  of  the  foreign 
born  have  been  governed.  Among  the  descendants  of  the 
foreign  bom  it  is  not  so  religiously  practiced,  and  the  revolt 


MINE   EMPLOYEES   AT   HOME.  137 

cx)mes  from  the  female  sex  which  demands  the  recognition  of 
certain  rights,  more  imaginary  than  real,  and  resents  the 
lordship  of  the  man  of  their  choice.  Under  the  old  regime 
large  families  were  raised  and  the  parents  attained  a  measure 
^f  domestic  felicity  seldom  enjoyed  under  the  new  code,  while 
virtually  no  divorces  are  known  among  the  foreign  born.  The 
parties  to  the  divorces  granted  in  the  courts  of  the  mining  re- 
gions are  invariably  native  born.  This  possibly  has  much  to 
io  with  the  fact  that  the  number  of  divorces  granted  in  our 
State  in  the  last  five  years  has  more  than  doubled,  while  the 
3auses  given  for  the  suits  are,  for  the  greater  part,  trivial.  A 
cendency  lightly  to  regard  the  holy  vows  of  matrimony  grows 
:o  an  alarming  extent  among  the  native  born  of  foreign  par- 
jntage.  It  bodes  ill  to  the  peace  of  society  and  strikes  fatally 
it  the  family  relation  which  is  the  basis  of  all  that  is  good  and 
honorable  in  social  life. 

The  lot  of  the  miner's  wife  is  a  hard  one.  The  code  of 
lomestic  ethics  prevailing  among  these  men  largely  savors  of 
hat  of  marriage  by  purchase.  The  wife  is  the  property  of  her 
lusband,  to  be  used  according  to  his  will,  and  for  which  he 
oaid  a  price.  Among  the  mine  workers  large  families  are  still 
he  rule.  Those  who  feel  the  effect  of  a  rise  in  the  standard 
)f  living,  which  carries  an  effect  upon  procreation,  get  out  of 
he  mines.  The  daughters  of  miners,  whose  tastes  conform  to 
he  American  standard  of  living,  prefer  to  remain  spinsters 
•ather  than  join  their  lot  with  mine  workers.  This  is  the  rea- 
son why  in  every  mining  town  there  is  a  class  of  females  among 
he  native  born  who  lead  a  single  life,  while  among  the  foreign 
)orn  engaged  in  the  mines  an  excess  of  bachelors  is  found.  No 
)ne  familiar  with  the  drudgery  and  toil  of  the  miner's  wife  can 
iay  anything  to  these  women  who  prefer  single  life. 

Take  a  day's  round  of  toil  in  these  women's  lives.  The 
niner  gets  up  at  5  or  5:30  in  the  morning,  and  the  wife  must 
)e  there  to  prepare  breakfast  and  fill  the  pail  of  the  husband. 
The  husband  gone,  she  does  a  little  house  work  before  the  chil- 
Iren  awake,  who  must  be  fed  and  dressed  for  school.  When 
he  children  are  gone,  the  nursling  must  be  washed  and  fed. 


138  ANTHRACITE    COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

The  morning  is  spent  and  at  noon  the  children  again  come  froi 
school  and  their  wants  must  be  supplied.  In  the  afternoon  tl 
evening  meal  —  the  only  cooked  meal  during  the  day  —  must  l 
prepared  and  a  plentiful  supply  of  hot  water  for  the  daily  abli 
tions  of  the  mine  workers.  Between  four  and  five  the  worke: 
return  home,  and  so  do  the  children.  Clean  warm  clothe 
must  be  got  for  the  husband  and  the  dirty  garments  laid  asic 
for  the  morning.  The  tub  is  then  removed  and  the  heart 
cleaned  of  suds  before  the  family  sits  at  table  for  the  evenir 
meal.  Then  comes  dish  washing.  No  sooner  is  this  done  tha 
the  children  must  be  prepared  for  bed.  The  wife^s  work  is  n( 
yet  done.  A  patch  is  needed  on  the  children's  or  husband 
clothes  and  when  all  are  asleep  she  plies  the  needle  in  ord< 
that  those  in  her  care  may  be  fairly  well  clad.  No  wond( 
these  wives  and  mothers  are  worn  out  at  the  close  of  day  an 
long  for  rest.  Add  to  this  daily  round  of  toil  the  washing  an 
the  baking,  the  shopping  and  the  house-cleaning,  not  to  spea 
anything  of  the  night  vigils  they  keep  when  some  of  the 
household  are  sick.  There  is  but  one  pair  of  hands  to  do  it  al 
Hired  help  is  out  of  the  question,  for  the  wages  of  a  mii 
worker  will  not  permit  it.  Can  we  wonder  that  the  homes  an 
the  children  of  these  mine  workers  are  not  so  clean  as  the 
should  be  ?  And  is  it  strange  that  the  daughter  of  ten  yea; 
is  kept  at  home  to  help  mother  before  she  has  learned  the  rud 
ments  of  a  common  school  education  ?  Many  of  these  bra\ 
hearts  break  down  when  their  husbands  are  still  in  the  vig( 
of  manhood.  They  are  worn  out,  their  frames  are  shatterec 
they  look  prematurely  old,  and  the  causes  are  the  burden  < 
motherhood  and  the  ceaseless  toil  of  home.  What  is  there  c 
poetry 'and  music  in  such  a  life,  and  native  born  girls  of  r 
fined  taste,  who  have  seen  it  in  all  its  dreadful  reality,  shun 
as  they  would  the  galleys. 

Much  has  been  said  of  the  hardship  of  a  miner's  life.  Tl 
irksome  and  disagreeable  conditions  of  employment  and  tl 
hazardous  and  toilsome  work  of  mine  workers,  have  been  a 
forth  in  the  agitation  for  better  conditions  during  the  pa 
years,  and  they  deserve  to  be  proclaimed.     But  in  all  the  ag 


MINE  EMPLOYEES  AT  HOME.  139 

tation  nothing  was  said  of  the  miner's  wife,  the  hard  conditions 
of  her  life  and  the  burden  she  has  to  carry  in  the  conflict  of 
life.  When  a  miner  testified  before  the  Anthracite  Coal  Strike 
Commission,  and  stated  that  his  wife  was  then  mother  of  ten 
children  and  that  she  was  sent  to  the  asylum.  Judge  Grey  said : 
"  No  wonder  she  went  to  the  asylum."  No,  the  wonder  is 
that  so  few  of  these  burden  bearers  in  the  homes  of  the  anthra- 
cite coal  fields  go  to  the  asylum. 

But  the  question  comes,  what  can  be  done  for  these  mothers 
whose  burdens  make  them  dead  to  rapture  and  despair  ?  How 
are  they  to  be  relieved  ?  There  seems  no  door  of  relief  as  long 
as  the  husbands  cling  to  the  "wife-by-purchase"  code  of 
domestic  ethics.  The  belief  that  the  wife  is  the  creature  of  the 
husband's  pleasure  is  fatal  to  all  attempts  at  ameliorating  her 
position.  Reason  and  common  sense  seem  to  suggest  that  the 
first  step  is  to  bring  the  men  to  feel  and  acknowledge  that  the 
woman  has  rights  which  must  be  observed  and  that  to  place 
upon  her  a  heavier  burden  than  she  can  carry  must  inevitably 
result  in  deterioration  in  both  the  body  and  the  mind  of  pos- 
terity. The  virtues  of  self-restraint  and  self-control  are  the 
great  lessons  to  be  learned  by  these  husbands,  and  no  efforts  of 
unionism  or  legislature  will  permanently  aid  them  unless  these 
virtues  are  practiced.  If  the  social  status  of  the  working  classes 
is  to  be  permanently  improved,  restriction  of  natality  must  have 
a  larger  place  in  their  creed. 

The  women  also  deserve  attention.  The  "absolute  sov- 
ereignty "  of  the  husband  may  contribute  to  domestic  peace, 
but  in  the  home  the  woman  is  queen  and  the  permanency  of  her 
power  depends  upon  the  efficiency  with  which  she  is  able  to  dis- 
charge her  duties. 

The  great  need  of  our  mothers  is  proper  training  in  the 
domestic  arts.  That  will  be  a  greater  adornment  for  her  and  a 
greater  blessing  to  society  than  any  accomplishment  which 
demands  a  more  prominent  sphere  of  display.  To  teach  her 
plain  cooking,  the  nutritive  qualities  of  common  articles  of  diet 
and  the  best  way  to  prepare  them  for  the  nourishing  of  the 
body ;  to  teach  her  plain  sewing  so  that  with  neatness  and 


140  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

economy  she  can  care  for  the  clothing  of  her  household;  i 
teach  her  how  to  care  for  children,  so  that  a  decreased  fecundii 
will  not  mean  a  decrease  in  population ;  to  teach  her  that  thei 
is  no  poison  as  virulent  as  that  which  man's  own  filth  generate 
and  that  dirt  and  death  go  hand  in  hand ;  to  teach  her  thj 
cleanliness,  fresh  air  and  sunshine  are  prime  conditions  of  li: 
and  happiness  —  these  are  the  things  that  need  to  be  taught  1 
the  wives  and  mothers  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  of  Peni 
sylvania,  and  perchance  to  the  wives  and  mothers  of  the  worl 
ing  classes  in  general.     The  chairman  of  the  committee  o 
Preventable  Diseases  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  said  in  189' 
that  6,000  children  die  annually  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvani 
of  preventable  diseases,  and  that  more  than  one  third  of  all  th 
children  born  in  this  Commonwealth  die  under  five  years  c 
age.     We  have  seen  that  the  death-rate  among  infants  in  thes 
mountains  equals  that  of  the  slums  of  crowded  cities,  while  : 
is  exceeded  only  by  that  of  the  colored   population  of  ou 
country.     Much  of  this  waste  of  life  is  due  to  ignorance  an 
shiftlessness  and  dirt.     If  mothers'  meetings  are  needed  anj; 
where,  it  is  here.     Nowhere  can  the  teacher  of  practical  h)? 
giene  and  the  elements  of  sanitary  science  be  of  greater  sei 
vice ;  while  the  moralist  who  teaches  temperance,  self-contrc 
and  right  relations  has  a  rich  field  for  his  practice.     Amou) 
most  of  these  people  the  desire  to  rise  in  the  social  hierarchy  i 
apparent.     They  are  susceptible  to  better  things,  and  especial! 
so  are  the  women.     As  a  first  condition  of  improvement  the 
should  be  made  to  feel  the  close  connection  between  dirt  an< 
degradation.     It  is  far  closer  than  most  people  are  willing  t 
believe  and  recognize.     Whoever  is  subjected  to  a  condition  o 
life  where  cleanliness  is  not  practiced  will  find  it  almost  im 
possible  steadily  and  surely  to  improve  in  his  moral  tone. 

Another  thing,  better  homes  should  be  placed  at  the  disposa 
of  families  who  live  in  miserable  shanties.  As  long  as  min( 
workers  live  in  these  wretched  hovels,  it  is  hopeless  to  expec 
a  better  type  of  womanhood  and  a  more  exalted  idea  of  the  re 
lations  of  family  life. 


MINE   EMPLOYEES    AT   HOME.  141 


The  Rights  of  Children. 


In  the  family  each  of  its  members  has  rights  which  public 
opinion,  custom  and  legislature  prescribe.  The  husband  is 
lord  of  the  home  among  these  workers  and  yet  he  cannot  main- 
tain discipline  as  men  were  wont  to,  namely,  by  force.  The 
knout  is  not  used  by  any  here,  while  the  rod  is  relegated  to 
oblivion.  There  is  a  chivalric  spirit  among  these  men,  that  to 
strike  a  woman  is  cowardly.  Some  men  do  beat  their  wives, 
but  the  force  of  public  opinion  is  such  that  it  never  fails  to 
find  some  way  of  expressing  itself,  and  if  the  offender  does  not 
amend  his  ways,  intrepid  amazons  take  the  case  in  hand  and 
discipline  the  culprit.  Between  husband  and  wife  in  mining 
communities  there  is  observance  of  mutual  rights,  and  generally 
speaking  the  woman  recognizes  the  authority  of  her  husband 
and  insists  not  on  the  acknowledgment  of  equal  rights,  which 
invariably  leads  to  conflict. 

There  are  many  children  in  the  families  of  mine  workers 
whose  rights,  as  far  as  they  are  still  left  in  the  hands  of  the 
parents,  are  observed.  Parental  love  is  strong  in  our  people 
and  marriage  without  children  is  regarded  as  unfortunate.  It 
is  only  when  the  descendants  of  foreign  born  parents  fall  under 
the  influence  of  a  rising  standard  of  living  and  their  felt  want 
far  exceeds  their  real  want  that  fecundity  is  decreased.  It  is 
curious,  however,  that  the  average  family  in  our  communities 
has  a  greater  welcome  for  boys  than  girls.  This  is  carried  to 
a  greater  extreme  among  the  Sclavs  than  the  English-speaking. 
When  a  boy  is  born  in  the  home,  the  christening  is  an  occasion 
of  great  rejoicing  and  the  "  kum ''  assembles  and  spends  the 
evening  in  feasting  and  dancing ;  but  if  it  is  a  girl  the  occasion 
is  passed  by  in  silence.  This  same  sentiment  prevails  generally 
among  the  English-speaking.  One  of  these,  when  told  thaf 
the  child  born  to  him  was  a  girl,  refused  to  speak  to  his  wife 
for  several  days.  Another  beat  his  wife  because  she  gave  birth 
to  the  seventh  girl.  Preference  for  male  children  has  char- 
acterized barbaric  nations.  The  preference  of  our  people 
is  due  to  economic  causes,  for  many  of  the  parents  look  upon 


142  ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

the  growing  boy  as  a  promise  of  future  aid  in  the  conflL 
of  life. 

In  these  homes  parents  are  indulgent  to  their  childrei 
Most  of  them  feel  their  moral  obligation  in  rearing  them  an 
practice  moral  restraint  in  their  presence.  There  are  some  wij 
deserters.  They  are,  as  a  rule,  lazy  fellows  who  will  not  suj 
port  the  brood  they  have  brought  into  the  world,  but,  deparl 
ing,  they  leave  them  to  become  a  public  charge.  Many  sue 
children  are  in  the  orphanages  of  our  counties.  But,  general! 
speaking,  these  mine  workers  work  hard  for  the  maintenanc 
of  their  offspring,  and  are  anxious  to  clothe  and  feed  thei 
well.  They  are  not  always  able  to  do  so  because  of  the  frequer 
additions  to  their  families.  So  short  a  period  as  15  or  1 
months  between  births  is  detrimental  to  the  physical  well  bein 
of  children.  They  cannot  get  the  care  and  attention  they  requin 
and  although  parental  love  is  strong  yet  there  is  a  limit  t 
human  strength  and  patience.  Children  will  be  physically  an^ 
intellectually  better,  when  the  period  between  births  is  extendi 
to  three  or  four  years.  Frequent  births  must  result  in  enfeeble* 
bodies,  weak  intellects,  and  dispositions  warped  by  the  frequen 
outbursts  of  passion  in  an  overworked  and  underfed  mothei 
Under  the  present  nemesis  of  ignorance  and  passion,  the  right 
of  babes  cannot  be  maintained,  no  matter  how  strong  may  b 
the  love  of  parents  for  their  offspring.  Here  again  wrong 
are  committed  in  ignorance,  and  only  the  dissemination  o 
knowledge  can  effect  the  cure. 

The  homes  of  many  of  these  mine  workers  are  far  from  bein^ 
suitable  places  to  impart  the  first  impressions  to  the  receptiv< 
minds  of  the  children.  Not  only  are  the  ordinary  parent: 
ignorant  of  the  laws  of  mental  development,  but  they  are  als( 
depraved  and  vicious,  and  the  effect  upon  the  awakening  min( 
of  the  child  is  often  tragic.  Home  is  the  best  place  for  j 
child,  no  matter  how  humble  it  may  be,  but  to  keep  a  child  fo: 
the  six  first  years  of  its  life  under  the  sole  care  of  parent' 
wholly  incompetent  to  direct  and  mould  the  awakening  mind 
is  mischievous  and  cruel.  The  State,  which  has  shown  anxiet} 
for  the  proper  training  of  children,  should  extend  its  powei 


MINE   EMPLOYEES   AT   HOME.  143 

and  bring  the  child,  which  spends  only  an  average  of  five  years 
in  school,  under  its  control  at  an  earlier  age.     It  means  the 
extending  of  the  kindergarten  system  to  all  our  communities, 
which  is  devoutly  to  be  desired.      Letourneau  said  :    "  Our 
actual  family  circle  is  most  often  very  imperfect ;  so  few  families 
can  give,  or  know  how  to  give,  a  healthy  physical,  moral  and 
intellectual  education  to  the  child,  that  in  this  domain  large 
encroachments  of  the  State,  whether  small  or  great,  are  prob- 
able, even  desirable.    There  is,  in  fact,  a  great  social  interest 
before  which  the  pretended  rights  of  families  must  be  effaced. 
In  order  to  prosper  and  live,  it  is  necessary  that  the  ethnic  or 
social  unit  should  incessantly  produce  a  sufficient  number  of  in- 
dividuals well  endowed  in  body,  heart  and  mind.     Before  this 
primordial  need  all  prejudices  must  yield,  all  egoistic  inter- 
ests must  bend."     It  must  have  been  the  incompetence  of  the 
ordinary  mother  properly  to  judge  of  the  best  interests  of  so- 
ciety that  led  the  divine  Plato  to  believe  that  the  mother,  after 
the  birth  of  the  child,  should  be  under  the  direction   of  the 
State.     No  one  to-day  believes  in  any  such  encroachment  upon 
the  rights  of  motherhood,  but  it  would  seem  just  that  the  child 
should  be  placed  under  competent  teachers  before  the  age  of  six. 
The  miner's  home  also  is  rarely  large  enough  to  afford  that 
protection  to  youth  which  the  laws  of  decency  and  morality 
demand.     We  speak  elsewhere  of  ugly  furniture  and  unsightly 
pictures ;  of  nasty  papers  and  trashy  books ;  of  the  absence  of 
means  of  culture  and    refinement.     What    we  refer   to   here 
especially  is  the  daily  custom  of  ablutions,  which  are  practiced 
on  the  hearth  in  the  presence  of  children  of  both  sexes.     Every 
one  employed  in  the  mines  must  take  his  bath  at  the  close  of 
each  day's  work.     The  homes  of  mine  employees  know  nothing 
of  the  luxury  of  a  bath-room.     A  tub  is  used,  which  is  inva- 
riably placed  in  the  kitchen.     During  the  task  of  washing,  the 
children  pass  to  and  fro,  and  are  spectators  of  the  nakedness 
of  the  bather.     This  practice  is  fatal  to  modesty  between  the 
sexes  and  the  sense  of  decency.     In  the  ordinary  miner's  home 
there  cannot  be  seclusion,  and  so  accustomed  are  they  to  this 
practice  of  nudity  that  little  attempt  is  made  at  seclusion.     In 


144  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

the  summer  months  many  homes  have  outside  shanties  wh< 
the  daily  ablution  may  be  performed  with  a  degree  of  priva 
Then,  however,  the  members  of  the  household  are  out  in  1 
sunshine  and  pure  air.  But  in  the  winter  season  the  childi 
cannot  go  out  into  the  cold ;  they  stay  indoors  and  are  da 
witnesses  to  the  father's  or  the  brother's  bathing.  Those  w 
live  in  a  six-room  house  can,  if  anxious  to  do  so,  escape  1 
deterioration  incident  to  such  a  practice,  providing  they  { 
willing  the  children  should  use  the  front  room,  which  is  1 
best  furnished  in  the  house  and  generally  called  the  pari 
But  even  if  a  wise  and  sensitive  mother  is  anxious  to  prot 
her  children  against  the  evils  incident  to  familiarity  w: 
nudity,  they  are  liable  to  meet  the  same  in  their  neighbo 
houses.  It  is  diiBficult  to  see  how  this  blunting  of  the  sense 
decency  in  the  female  sex  can  be  avoided.  To  erect  bat 
rooms  in  the  homes  of  mine  employees  is  out  of  the  questic 
A  law  was  passed  in  1891  requiring  the  companies  to  er( 
wash-houses  at  each  colliery  where  the  employees  could  perfoi 
their  daily  ablutions.  This  was  chiefly  designed  for  m 
working  in  wet  places,  who  were  obliged  to  walk  home  in  th- 
wet  garments  in  winter.  Few  of  the  men  avail  themselves 
the  provisions  made.  They  have  their  reasons.  Wet  gi 
ments  must  be  dried  for  the  following  day,  and  the  compa 
has  no  one  present  whose  business  it  is  to  see  that  the  mine 
clothes  are  dried.  If  he  leaves  them  near  the  stove  or  stes 
pipes,  they  will  be  stolen  before  the  morning.  The  mine  ei 
ployees  will  continue  to  wash  in  their  homes,  and  as  at  prese 
done,  the  system  is  demoralizing.  Daily  exposure  in  tubs 
the  hearth  where  children  receive  their  first  impressions  of  pi 
priety  and  decency  and  where  young  girls  come  to  womauhoc 
must  affect  their  morals.  Many  parents  could  do  much  to  pi 
tect  their  children,  if  houses  large  enough  were  placed 
their  disposal,  and  they  were  fully  conscious  of  the  evil  i 
cident  to  the  present  custom.  But  as  long  as  many  of  o 
people  live  in  houses  of  only  two  rooms,  it  is  impossible  f 
them  to  practice  seclusion,  however  much  the  prudent  moth 
may  wish  it. 


MINE   EMPLOYEES   AT   HOME.  145 

Another  evil  of  houses  with  inadequate  accommodations  for 
ordinary  families  is  the  lack  of  bed-rooms  which  are  separated 
the  one  from  the  other.  How  can  modesty  and  decency  be 
practiced  in  a  house  with  one  bed-room  ?  We  have  seen  homes 
where  the  only  bed-room  had  in  it  four  beds,  in  which  the 
parents  and  the  children  slept.  Under  such  conditions  can  we 
expect  children  to  grow  up  virtuous,  modest  and  pure?  If 
abominations  exist  such  as  are  practiced  among  the  heathen,  it 
ought  not  to  be  strange.  Sanitary  and  moral  conditions  can 
never  be  satisfied  under  such  a  system,  and  the  rights  of  young 
children  to  wholesome  examples  in  decency  and  self-respect 
cannot  be  maintained.  It  is  a  cruel  wrong  to  growing  man- 
hood and  womanhood  to  subject  them  to  such  environment  and 
expose  them  to  such  temptation,  and  if  incest,  illegitimacy, 
juvenile  prostitution,  idleness  and  disease  prevail,  society  pays 
a  dreadful  price  for  tolerating  such  conditions. 

Every  child  born  into  the  world  ought  to  have  a  plentiful 
supply  of  nourishing  food,  warm  clothing,  adequate  shelter, 
wholesome  example  and  proper  tuition.  Cinder  conditions 
which  prevail  in  many  mining  camps  these  rights  cannot  be 
secured  them,  and  those  who  have  the  interest  of  society  at 
heart  ought  to  see  that  the  rights  of  children  are  more  sacredly 
and  religiously  maintained. 

The  Need  of  Better  Homes. 

In  the  towns  and  villages  of  the  anthracite  coal  fields  there 
s  not  much  crowding.    The  400,000  people  are,  for  the  greater 
)art,  scattered  in  small  settlements  of  from  a  few  hundred  to 
20,000  population.     In  the  1,700  square  miles  of  territory 
)ccupied  by  the  coal  fields  there  are  only  two  cities  of  any  size,     > 
lamely,  Scranton  and  Wilkesbarre,  and  even  in  these  there  is      \ 
ittle  congestion.     The  102,000  inhabitants  of  Scranton  are        .\ 
yidely  scattered  over  an  area  of  about   16  square  miles,   so 
hat   the   residential  portions   of  the    city  have  the   appear-  I 

nee  of  suburbs  as  compared  with  congested  districts  in  large    '      ' 
ities.     Wilkesbarre  with  its   51,000   is  the  same.     Outside 
hese  two  cities,  the  127  municipalities  which  are  located  in 
11 


146  ANTHRACITE   COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

the  anthracite  coal  fields  are  classified  as  follows  as  regard 
population  : 

Of  less  than  1,000  population 26 

Between  1,000  and  2,000 22 

Between  2,000  and  3,000 29 

Between  3,000  and  4,000 9 

Between  4,000  and  5,000 15 

Between  5,000  and  6,000 8 

Between  6,000  and  7,000 3 

Between  7,000  and  8,000 1 

Between  9,000  and  10,000 1 

Between  12,000  and  13,000 4 

Between  13,000  and  14,000 4 

Between  14,000  and  15,000 2 

Between  15,000  and  16,000 1 

Between  18,000  and  19,000 1 

Between  20,000  and  21,000 1 

127 

Of  these  townships  and  boroughs,  none  can  be  said  to  t 

congested  save  Shenandoah  and  Mahanoy  City,  and  of  thes 

two  the  former  is  the  worse.     The  town   of  Shenandoah  : 

located  on  a  knoll  which  would,  with  ordinary  precautioi 

afford  admirable  opportunity  for  sanitary  homes.     The  towi 

however,  occupies  about  one  fourth  the  area  it  should,  and  : 

surrounded  by  coal  properties  which  are  either  in  litigation  c 

in  the  hands  of  parties  who  will  not  sell  the  surface  for  builc 

ing  lots,  so  that  all  available  ground  has  long  been  appropr 

ated  and  real  estate  has  been  for  many  years  at  a  premiuD 

Here  building  lots  of  25  ft.  by  75  ft.  have  four  dwelling 

upon  them,  and  between  these  are  the  vaults  for  the  use  of  tl 

tenants.     In  summer  time  the  stench  from  these  is  sickening 

and  often  have  we  heard  the  tenants  complaining  that  the 

cannot  open  the  windows  facing  these  pest  holes  either  night  ( 

day,  while  members  of  the  family  have  in  the  morning  spel 

of  nausea  which   destroy  appetite,  and   frequently  bring   c 

sickness.     The  towns  of  Shenandoah  and  Mahanoy  City  ai 

also  built  on  the  coal  basin.     Many  houses  are  built  on  tl 

rocks  which  pitch  at  an  angle  of  40  or  50  degrees.     On  tl 

higher  elevation  the  closets  are  built,  and  at  a  distance  of  3 

feet  the  cellar  of  the  dwelling  is  dug.     The  floor  of  the  cells 


MINE  EMPLOYEES  AT  HOME.  147 

is  frequently  lower  than  the  bottom  of  the  vault,  and  the  seams 
being  slackened  by  mining  operations,  the  contents  of  the 
vaults  sometimes  enter  the  cellar — a  nuisance  which  brings 
death  to  those  tenants  most  susceptible  to  disease.  Infant 
mortality  in  these  two  towns  is  very  high.  When  we  con- 
sider the  pestiferous  vaults  crowding  the  few  feet  of  yard 
where  these  people  dwell,  the  wonder  is  that  the  mothers  carry 
not  fatal  bacilli  enough  to  kill  every  nursling  in  the  home. 
The  only  redeeming  feature  in  these  towns  is  the  open  moun- 
tains which  surround  them  on  all  sides,  where  the  children  can 
run  in  summer  days  and  breathe  the  pure  air  and  bathe  in  the 
warm  sunshine.  Both  towns  are  also  supplied  with  good 
water,  although  the  supply  furnished  by  the  borough  of  Shen- 
andoah is  not  adequate  to  meet  the  demand,  which  is  a  source 
of  great  inconvenience  in  a  mining  town  where  a  plentiful 
supply  of  water  is  so  essential  to  the  comfort  and  convenience 
of  the  workers. 

•  In  both  these  towns  the  local  boards  of  health  ought  to  be 
more  vigilant  and  strict,  and  the  greed  of  landlords  ought  not 
to  be  permitted  to  stand  in  the  way  of  the  health  of  the  people. 
The  words  of  Dr.  G.  G.  Groff :  "  The  waste  from  any  animaFs 
own  body  is  the  poison  which  it  should  most  dread  "  should  be 
remembered.  The  greatest  menace  to  our  towns  arises  from 
lack  of  adequate  precaution  in  the  matter  of  vaults  and  sewers, 
and  the  indifference  or  total  absence  of  health  officers  in  most 
of  them  accounts  for  the  presence  of  many  nuisances  which 
need  abatement.  There  is  no  justification  for  the  high  death- 
rate  among  infants  in  these  mountain  towns,  and  the  rights  of 
children  born  into  the  world  will  never  be  adequately  protected 
until  public  sentiment  is  so  awakened  that  the  many  nuisances 
now  existing  are  removed.  It  can  only  be  done  by  putting  so- 
cial well  being  above  personal  gain,  and  placing  the  affairs  of 
our  boroughs  in  the  hands  of  men  who  regard  their  trust  as 
paramount  to  any  personal  interest. 

We  have  spoken  specially  of  Shenandoah  and  Mahanoy  City, 
but  the  evils  complained  of  are  generally  in  towns  of  from  3,000 
to  20,000  inhabitants.     A  visit  to  Lansford,  Mt.  Carmel,  Oly- 


148  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

phant,  Plymouth,  Edwardsville,  Nanticoke,  etc.,  will  reveal  th 
same  evils.  Many  of  the  people  in  these  towns  are  not  consciou 
of  the  deadly  poison  arising  from  unclean  habits,  and  while  thi 
ignorance  and  filth  prevail  the  angel  of  death  ever  hover 
around  the  lives  of  innocent  children. 

We  shall  speak  in  a  later  chapter  of  the  intemperance  c 
mining  towns,  but  in  this  connection  a  few  words  will  not  b 
amiss.  The  connection  between  the  poverty  of  the  home  an« 
the  saloon  has  long  attracted  the  attention  of  students  c 
society.  Miserable  homes  drive  men  to  saloons.  As  long  a 
men  are  compelled  to  live  in  houses  where  there  is  no  roor 
save  to  sleep  and  eat,  the  saloon  will  have  an  irresistible  attrac 
tion  for  them.  Increase  of  wages  and  shorter  hours  of  labo 
will  not  benefit  men  who  live  in  shanties  and  dwellings  owne 
by  companies.  Give  them  more  wages  and  more  leisure,  wha 
incentive  is  there  for  them  wisely  to  use  their  extra  time  ani 
money  ?  In  most  instances  it  will  only  mean  more  drink  an" 
more  time  spent  in  the  saloon.  The  first  step  in  the  necessar 
reform  in  these  communities  is  better  homes  for  at  least  20  pe 
cent,  of  our  people.  A  healthy  and  commodious  home,  such  a 
working  men  deserve,  will  mean  fewer  saloons,  greater  health 
and  a  larger  measure  of  happiness.  Then  opportunity  shouL 
be  given  the  men  to  buy  the  homes  at  a  fair  price  and  on  reason 
able  terms.  Society  as  well  as  the  companies  will  gain  thereb} 
Personal  possession  brings  with  it  a  sense  of  responsibilit 
and  social  worth,  while  it  materially  enhances  the  productiv 
capacity  of  the  individual.  Place  some  object  before  the  ordi 
nary  worker  worthy  of  his  best  endeavor,  and  you  increase  hi 
self-respect  and  independence,  and  he  becomes  a  better  mai 
Deprive  him  of  all  opportunities  of  self-improvement  and  seli 
advancement,  and  the  possibilities  of  raising  his  social  statu 
will  be  forfeited.  Society  is  stronger  according  as  its  membei 
form  a  gradually  ascending  scale  in  personal  possession  of  ms 
terial  good.  No  society  can  ever  be  firmly  fixed  where  ex 
tremes  of  poverty  and  riches  meet.  A  wholesome  distributio 
of  riches  amid  the  various  grades  of  society  means  health  an 
vigor  in  the  social  group ;  amassing  riches  in  one  family  b 


MINE   EMPLOYEES   AT   HOME.  149 

eliminating  all  opportunities  of  personal  acquisition  of  property 
by  employees  must  result  in  social  disintegration  and  personal 
deterioration.  If  these  few  principles  were  acted  upon  by  the 
coal  operators  of  the  anthracite  industry,  we  believe  greater 
peace  and  good-will  would  exist  between  employers  and  em- 
ployees, and  we  are  confident  that  the  saloon  evil  would  be 
greatly  eliminated.  If  the  coal  companies  that  rent  miserable 
houses  to  their  employees,  were  to  abolish  these  as  speedily  as 
they  could  and  build  homes  for  the  people  which  would  secure 
domestic  privacy  —  the  foundation  of  morality ;  sanitary  con- 
ditions —  the  mainspring  of  health ;  and  comfort,  convenience 
and  attractiveness ;  and  offer  them  for  sale  on  favorable  con- 
ditions, they  would  confer  a  far  greater  blessing  upon  their  em- 
ployees than  any  advance  in  wages  or  improved  conditions  ever 
can.  Company  houses  that  are  commodious  —  and  there  are 
many  of  these  —  could  be  sold  outright  to  those  willing  to  buy, 
and  we  are  sure  that  ultimately  the  companies  would  gain  far 
more  in  the  improved  personnel  of  their  employees  than  they 
lose  in  rentals. 

It  is  of  importance  to  society  that  the  anthracite  mining 
operations  shojil^  pay  a  reasonable  dividend  to  capitalists  and 
a  fair  wage  foil  labor.  But  there  are  considerations  far  more 
important  than  the  economic  in  the  group  we  study.  We  have 
here  a  mass  of  raw  material  which  forms  one  fourth  of  our 
population.  Every  one  of  the  immigrants  has  come  to  our 
country  in  the  hope  of  improving  his  material  condition.  By 
no  lever  can  these  men  be  raised  in  their  social  status  so  rapidly 
as  by  this  anxiety  for  acquisition  of  wealth.  Whenever  the 
opportunity  is  afforded  them,  they  have  readily  taken  hold  of 
land  and  put  up  a  house.  Should  not  considerations  of  patriot- 
ism lead  our  captains  of  industry  to  give  all  opportunity  to 
these  immigrants  to  put  their  extra  earnings  in  houses,  where 
their  acquisitiveness  may  be  satisfied  and  their  pride  in  per- 
sonal possessions  be  gratified  ?  Dividends  are  important,  but 
the  development  of  manhood  and  womanhood  is  of  far  greater 
importance.  It  has  long  been  proved,  and  especially  so  from 
the  experiments  of  Kobert  Owen,  that  no  investment  pays  capi- 


150  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

talists  SO  well  as  that  made  for  the  comfort  and  elevation  < 
their  employees ;  and  no  curse  is  so  sure  and  strong  as  thj 
which  falls  upon  capitalistic  greed,  which  concerns  itself  on] 
with  returns  on  its  capital  regardless  of  the  physical,  inte 
lectual  and  moral  conditions  of  the  employees  whose  lalx 
fructifies  the  capital  they  possess. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
OUR  EDUCATIONAL  APPARATUS. 

1.    SCHOOLHOUSES   IN   MiNING    TOWNS.      2.    ThE     MeN    AND  WOMEN  WhO 

Teach.     3.  The  Boys  and  Girls  in  School.    4.  The  Boys  in  the 
Breakebs.    5.  Can  Our  Educational  System  be  Improved? 


SCHOOLHOUSES   IN    MiNING   ToWNS. 

There  are  in  the  anthracite  coal  communities  2,429  schoools 
where  the  children  are  trained  for  from  seven  to  ten  months  in 
the  year.  Each  month  must  contain  not  less  than  twenty  days' 
schooling  so  that  the  pupils  are  taught  each  year  from  140  to 
200  days.  Taking  107  municipalities  in  these  regions,  we  find 
the  following  classification  as  to  the  number  of  months  taught 

each  year : 

2  Municipalities  for  7  months. 


8 

a 

'♦    8 

(( 

81 

11 

*'    9 

(( 

16 

<( 

''10 

(( 

This  gives  an  average  of  nine  months  or  180  days'  schooling 
to  the  youth  of  these  communities.  The  average  number  of 
months'  teaching  in  the  counties  in  which  lie  the  coal  fields  is 
as  follows  : 


1901.  1902. 


Schuylkill 

County  (Anthracite)  8.74  months. 

8.72 

Luzerne 

<( 

8.67 

<( 

8.56 

T^ackawanna 

<( 

8.35 

<( 

9.44 

Columbia 

(( 

7.65 

(( 

7.70 

Carbon 

(< 

8.30 

(( 

8.25 

Dauphin 

u 

8.47 

<( 

8.45 

North  umberland 

<< 

8.28 

(< 

8.62 

Susquehanna 

(Agricultural) 

7.39 

<( 

7.35 

Clearfield 

(Bituminous) 

7.23 

<( 

7.32 

Westmoreland 

(( 

7.50 

<( 

7.35 

For  all  the  counties  of  the  State,  inclusive  of  Philadelphia, 
the  average  for  1901  was  8.28  months  and  for  1902,  8.32. 

151 


152  ANTHKACITE   COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that,  as  far  as  length  of  school  term  i 
concerned,  the  children  of  the  anthracite  coal  regions  enjoy  bettt 
privileges  than  those  of  agricultural  communities  and  of  th 
bituminous  coal  fields,  while  they  nearly  equal  the  advantages 
in  length  of  school  year,  which  the  sons  and  daughters  of  res 
idents  of  large  cities  enjoy. 

The  total  valuation  of  the  school  properties  in  the  territor 
under  consideration  is  $5,858,160.63,  which  is  equal  to  10. 
per  cent,  of  the  estimated  value  of  the  public  school  building 
of  the  State.  The  population  of  the  anthracite  coal  communi 
ties  forms  9.8  per  cent,  of  the  total  population  of  the  State,  s 
that  the  percentage  of  school  property  in  these  regions  is  slight! 
in  excess  of  the  percentage  of  population  as  compared  with  tha 
of  the  State. 

The  liabilities  of  the  schools  in  these  coal  fields  are  $1,363, 
587.10,  which  is  about  12  per  cent,  of  the  total  liabilities  o 
the  schools  of  the  State,  so  that  the  proportion  of  school  debt 
in  our  territory  is  in  excess  of  the  proportion  of  our  populatioi 
as  compared  with  the  population  of  the  State.  The  indebted 
ness  of  our  schools  is  not  to  be  accounted  for  because  of  th« 
tendency  of  school  directors  to  place  taxes  levied  for  schoo 
purposes  at  a  low  figure.  The  law  sets  a  limit  of  13  mills,  anc 
out  of  1 04  anthracite  mining  muncipalities  57  placed  the  ta^ 
at  the  maximum  limit  as  prescribed  by  the  State.  The  classi 
fying  of  these  muncipalities  is  as  follows  : 

57  boards  levied  13  mills. 


12 

12 

6 

11 

8 

10 

5 

9 

5 

8 

6 

7 

5 

6 

The  boroughs  of  Pottsville,  St.  Clair  and  Tamaqua,  together 
with  the  city  of  Wilkesbarre  form  conspicuous  exceptions  to  the 
general  rule  of  fixing  the  tax  levy  for  school  purposes.  These 
levied  for  1901,  4.5,  4,  5  and  4.5  mills  respectively,  and  for 
1902,  5,5,  5  and  4.5  mills.     Of  course  the  rate  at  which  prop- 


"^ 

1 

'flp 

^  ^m 

Ik 

1 

The  Ravages  Wrought  by  Mining. 


Scene  of  a  Cave-in  on  Lackawanna  Street,  Olyphant,  January,  1902. 

(Four  houses,  a  barber  shop  and  a  hotel  were  swallowed  up  within  an  hour  of 

the  first  warning. ) 


OUR  EDUCATIONAL  APPARATUS.  163 

erty  is  assessed  in  the  various  localities  has  a  bearing  upon  the 
total  amount  appropriated  by  local  taxation  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  schools,  and  yet  it  is  significant  that  over  fifty  per  cent, 
of  the  boroughs  and  townships  place  the  tax  at  the  extreme  limit 
as  prescribed  by  law,  while  another  twenty-five  per  cent,  place  it 
between  ten  and  twelve  mills  on  the  dollar.  In  an  agricultural 
area  of  nearly  the  same  population  as  the  anthracite  coal  fields, 
we  find  that  the  school  liabilities  are  only  5.4  per  cent,  of  the 
total  liabilities  of  the  State  schools,  while  the  percentage  of 
population  in  this  rural  district  is  9.9  per  cent,  of  the  population 
of  the  State.  Taking  an  area  in  the  bituminous  coal  fields  of 
about  equal  population  with  that  of  the  anthracite  coal  fields,  we 
find  its  school  liabilities  only  5.6  per  cent,  of  the  total  school 
liabilities  of  the  State,  while  the  population  of  the  area  is  9.4 
per  cent,  of  the  whole  population  of  Pennsylvania.  Thus  in 
both  agricultural  and  bituminous  territories  the  proportion  of 
school  liabilities  is  considerably  lower  than  in  our  area. 

During  the  year  1901  the  total  expenditure  for  the  mainten- 
ance of  our  schools  aggregated  $2,242,548.61  or  9.7  per  cent, 
of  the  total  amount  spent  on  the  schools  of  the  State.  This 
percentage  of  expenditure  is  virtually  the  same  as  the  per- 
centage of  our  population.  Of  this  sum  the  State  appropriation 
amounted  to  $493,401.68  which  is  also  9.7  per  cent,  of  the 
total  amount  appropriated  by  the  Legislature  for  school  pur- 
poses. 

During  the  year  1901  there  were  123,384  pupils  enrolled  in 
the  schools  of  the  anthracite  communities,  and  the  sum  of 
$18.17  per  capita  spent  in  educating  them  during  the  year. 
The  per  capita  expenditure  for  the  whole  of  the  State  for  that 
year  was  $19.64.  The  cost  per  pupil  in  Philadelphia  was 
$30.88  and  in  Pittsburg  $37.94.  The  expenditure  per  pupil 
in  the  anthracite  mining  towns  and  boroughs  is  larger  than  in 
agricultural  communities.  In  Susquehanna  county  the  cost 
per  pupil  was  $13.37;  in  Berks  county  $16.26,  while  in  the 
bituminous  counties  of  Clearfield  and  Westmoreland  we  have 
an  annual  expenditure  of  $11.76  and  $7.16  per  pupil  re- 
spectively. 


154  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

The  number  of  pupils  per  school  in  our  territory  is  50.  < 
and  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  our  towns  and  villages  ai 
scattered,  they  form  communities  so  thickly  populated  as  1 
give  the  majority  of  our  children  ample  facilities  for  trainin 
in  the  common  branches  of  education,  while  in  nearly  all  ot 
boroughs  high  school  privileges  are  afforded  them. 

Thus  the  number  of  schools,  the  length  of  the  school  yea: 
the  total  amount  spent  in  erection  of  school  buildings  and  i 
the  maintenance  of  our  educational  system,  the  enormous  deb 
incurred  in  equipment  and  in  improvements,  indicate  that  th 
pupils  id  our  territory  have  greater  educational  privileges  tha 
those  in  agricultural  and  bituminous  regions,  while  for  th 
majority  of  our  pupils  there  are  educational  advantages  offere< 
which  are  equal  to  any  offered  in  second  and  third  class  citie 
in  the  country. 

School  buildings  in  our  territory  differ  greatly  in  charactei 
In  the  mining  patches,  frame  buildings  of  the  plainest  possibl 
lype  are  the  rule.  Around  them  no  attempt  is  made  at  beaut 
or  ordinary  adornment ;  no  plot  of  green  sod ;  no  flow^ers,  an 
the  building  generally  needs  paint  and  repairing.  In  the  larg€ 
towns  better  buildings  are  found.  Many  of  them  are  built  o 
brick,  but  the  majority  are  frame  buildings.  In  some  of  thes 
attention  is  given  to  beauty.  Gravel  walks  divide  plots  o 
green  sod  amid  which  are  found  beds  of  flowers.  The  wast 
paper  and  useless  stuff  thrown  by  hundreds  of  pupils  in  th 
school  yard  are  carefully  removed.  The  fence  is  neatly  paintec 
and  the  external  appearance  of  the  structure  shows  constar 
care  and  prudent  expenditure  of  funds.  Other  towns  whic 
have  large  schools  pay  little  attention  to  either  the  external  o 
internal  appearance  of  their  schools.  Externally,  there  i 
nothing  to  please  the  eye  or  suggest  a  beautiful  thought  o 
produce  an  agreeable  impression  on  the  mind  of  the  pupil.  O 
all  sides  one  has  the  impression  of  carelessness  and  shiftless 
ness,  and  many  parts  of  the  structure  show  a  wilful  disregar 
to  the  best  interests  of  the  community  from  the  sole  standpoin 
of  the  preservation  of  property.  Internally,  most  of  the  school 
of  mining  towns  and  villages  could  be  greatly  improved.     Gen 


OUR   EDUCATIONAL   APPARATUS.  155 

erally  no  picture,  no  models,  no  flowers  —  nothing  that  makes 
the  school-room  attractive,  is  found.  It  may  be  partly  due  to 
the  lack  of  funds,  but  the  greater  burden  of  responsibility  for 
this  barrenness  in  public  school  rooms  rests  with  the  teachers 
and  superintendents  of  these  schools.  Little  or  no  attention  is 
given  by  many  teachers  —  not  to  speak  of  school  directors  — 
to  aesthetic  environment  in  public  schools.  Were  more  atten- 
tion given  to  this,  both  teacher  and  pupil  would  profit  thereby  ; 
the  teacher  in  having  scholars  more  amenable  to  discipline ;  the 
pupils  in  receiving  impressions  of  order,  neatness  and  beauty 
which  no  person  can  impart  by  precept. 

In  the  anthracite  coal  communities  there  is  much  that  is 
ugly,  repulsive,  base,  and  depressing.  The  contamination  of 
our  streams,  the  black  creeks  full  of  water  laden  with  coal-dust, 
the  dismal  acres  where  the  refuse  from  washeries  has  long 
been  turned  —  these  make  a  dreary  environment.  Trunks  of 
trees  stand  in  valleys,  veritable  ghosts  of  stately  pines  which  no 
more  know  spring-time  and  summer.  In  many  places  acres  of 
culm  heaps,  which  are  the  refuse  of  a  century  of  mining,  stand 
as  black  monsters  defiling  our  fairest  valleys  ;  the  huge  black 
breakers  and  shafts  enveloped  in  a  cloud  of  smoke  and  steam 
and  dust  when  in  operation  ;  the  scores  of  mining  patches 
where  houses  have  been  built  with  depressing  uniformity,  while 
around  them  are  seen  heaps  of  ashes,  tin-cans,  old  bottles, 
empty  beer  kegs,  etc.  That  is  the  environment  of  thousands 
of  youths  in  the  anthracite  regions  and  it  inflicts  upon  the  man 
incalculable  wrong  which  influences  their  whole  life.  Amid  so 
much  that  is  ugly  and  debasing,  ought  not  the  plastic  minds 
of  these  children  be  brought  in  contact  with  one  spot  that  is 
beautiful  and  serene,  which  would  exert  a  holy  influence  upon 
their  souls  and  stimulate  their  aesthetic  sense  ?  When  the  envir- 
onment of  the  public  school  and  the  interior  of  the  school  room 
conform  to  artistic  taste  in  the  highest  sense,  then  a  sacred  in- 
fluence will  work  upon  the  awakening  mind  of  the  child,  which 
will  add  dignity  and  interest  to  the  specific  work  of  the  teacher. 
Its  grace  and  suggestiveness  will  also  do  something  to  repair 
the  wrong  done  the  child  by  the  neglect  and  cupidity  of  those 


156 


ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 


responsible  for  the  depressing  environment  generally  found 
mining  communities. 

Besides  the  public  schools,  there  are  many  parochial  schoc 
in  our  large  towns  and  cities,  where  hundreds  of  pupils  a 
taught.  The  number  of  these  schools,  the  valuation  of  the 
property,  the  number  of  scholars  and  teachers,  etc.,  are  n 
given  in  the  annual  report  of  the  State  Superintendent  ( 
Public  Instruction.  Schools  of  this  nature  are  found  : 
Scranton,  Wilkesbarre,  Pittston,  Plymouth,  Nanticoke,  Hazl 
ton,  Mahanoy  City,  Shenandoah,  Pottsville,  Mt.  Carmel,  Sh; 
mokin,  Olyphant,  Carbondale,  etc.  Irish  Catholic  church* 
have  many  schools,  but  they  are  not  so  general  as  those  plants 
by  the  Catholic  churches  maintained  by  the  Sclavs.  Tl 
Hungarians,  Lithuanians,  Slavonians  and  Polanders  are  sai 
guine  upholders  of  the  parochial  school  system,  and  they  inst 
tute  such  a  school  wherever  they  are  strong  enough  to  put  u 
a  church  edifice.  The  Kuthenians  or  Little  Greeks  form  a 
exception  to  this.  They  invariably  send  their  children  to  tl 
public  school,  but  every  day  insist  upon  their  attendance  in  th 
church,  where  catechetical  instruction  is  imparted  to  then 
The  total  number  of  scholars  in  parochial  schools  in  our  terr 
tory,  as  found  in  the  Catholic  Directory,  is  12,781,  which  i 
10.3  per  cent,  of  all  the  children  in  public  schools  in  anthra 
cite  communities.  In  some  of  our  towns  from  25  to  30  pe 
cent,  of  the  children  of  school  age  are  enrolled  in  parochis 
schools.  The  following  table  gives  the  number  of  these  school 
in  the  anthracite  coal  fields,  together  with  the  nationality  of  th 
scholars. 


Nationality. 

Number  of 
Schools. 

Number  of  Pupils. 

Total. 

Boys. 

Girls. 

Irish 

22 

7 

17 

3,961 

528 

1,220 

5,156 

540 

1,376 

9,117 

Gennan 

Sclav 

1,068 
2.596 

Totals 

46 

5,709 

7,072             12.781 

' 

The  number  of  teachers  engaged  in  teaching  is  not  given 
in  schools  where  the  number  is  given  there  is  one  for  every  4( 


OUR   EDUCATIONAL   APPARATUS.  157 

pupils.  If  the  same  proportion  holds  good  in  all  schools  there 
are  about  319  teachers  employed,  almost  all  of  whom  are  sisters 
of  various  orders. 

Many  of  the  Sclav  churches  conduct  their  parochial  schools 
in  the  basement  of  the  church,  while  others  have  built  a  struc- 
ture specially  devoted  to  this  purpose.  Some  of  the  Irish 
Catholic  congregations  have  put  up  excellent  buildings  whose 
environment  is  admirably  kept  and  a  conscious  influence  is 
wrought  upon  the  receptive  minds  of  the  children  in  attend- 
ance. The  interior  of  the  schools  is  also  adorned  by  pictures 
of  the  saints  which  inspire  reverence  in  the  heart  of  the  child. 

Jewish  congregations  also  have  institutions  where  their  young 
are  taught.  The  children  are  regular  attendants  on  the  public 
school,  but  in  addition  to  this  they  are  daily  required  to  attend 
the  school  at  the  synagogue,  where  they  are  trained  in  the  faith 
of  their  fathers.  Most  of  the  Jews  in  the  anthracite  mining 
towns  are  of  the  orthodox  faith,  and  strictly  rear  their  children 
in  the  same.  They,  however,  send  their  children  to  the  public 
schools  and  only  engage  the  private  teacher  to  teach  the  thorah 
and  give  instruction  in  a  few  foreign  languages. 

In  addition  to  these  there  are  a  few  kindergarten  schools  in 
some  of  our  towns  and  cities.  In  1898  the  school  board  of 
the  city  of  Scranton  appropriated  $1,000  for  kindergarten 
work.  This  movement  soon  grew  and  it  now  forms  a  part  of 
the  regular  system  of  instruction.  Nine  such  schools  are  now 
conducted  in  various  sections  of  the  city,  giving  employment  to 
ten  teachers.  Outside  the  city  of  Scranton  no  municipality 
has  incorporated  the  kindergarten  work  in  its  scheme  of  public 
instruction.  The  Presbyterian  Mission  among  foreign  nation- 
alities has  founded  and  maintains  five  kindergarten  schools  in  the 
Wyoming  and  Lackawanna  valleys,  where  children  of  all  peo- 
ples and  sects  are  welcomed  and  instruction  is  imparted  them 
by  song  and  drill,  which  are  designed  to  develop  in  the  child's 
mind  patriotic  sentiment  and  the  sense  of  propriety. 

In  the  Middle  and  Southern  sections  of  the  coal  fields  a  few 
kindergarten  schools  were  started  by  individual  enterprise,  but 
lack  of  patronage  and  of  appreciation  soon  closed  them.     Free 


158  ANTHRACITE    COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

kindergartens  are  found  in  the  towns  of  Hazleton  and  Potts 
ville.  Such  schools  are  sadly  needed  in  all  our  towns  and  n< 
more  promising  field  is  possible  for  individual  or  corpora^ 
philanthropy. 

The  Men  and  Women  Who  Teach. 

The  total  number  of  teachers  in  the  State  in  1901  was  30, 
044 ;  of  these  9,194  or  30.6  per  cent,  were  males  and  20,85( 
or  69.4  per  cent,  were  females.  The  average  salary  of  mah 
teachers  was  $44.14  per  month,  and  that  of  female  teachers 
$38.23.  If  we  leave  out  the  City  of  Philadelphia  the  propor- 
tion of  male  and  female  teachers  is  33.8  per  cent,  and  66.2  pe] 
cent,  respectively,  and  the  average  male  teacher^s  salary  $42.14 
and  that  of  the  female  $33.08.  In  1902  there  were  in  the 
State  30,640  teachers,  8,585  or  28  per  cent,  male,  and  22,05^ 
or  72  per  cent,  female ;  average  salary  for  males  $44.92  anc 
for  females  $33.75.  In  Philadelphia  the  percentage  of  mah 
teachers  is  31  and  of  female  69,  and  the  average  monthly  wage 
of  male  teachers  $42.96  and  of  females  $33.34. 

The  total  number  of  teachers  in  the  public  schools  of  the 
anthracite  coal  fields  in  1901  was  2,345,  of  which  493  or  21 
per  cent,  were  males  and  1,852  or  79  per  cent,  were  females. 
The  average  monthly  wage  paid  to  the  male  teacher  was  $68.1 6, 
and  to  the  female  teacher  $40.59.  The  figures  for  1902  in  oui 
territory  vary  but  slightly  from  these.  The  only  counties  in  the 
State  paying  a  higher  average  per  month  to  their  male  teachers 
are  Allegheny  and  Delaware,  while  the  average  paid  to  female 
teachers  is  higher  than  that  paid  in  60  out  of  the  67  counties 
in  the  State. 

The  opposite  table  gives  us  the  number  of  teachers  in  the 
six  counties  where  anthracite  mining  is  being  carried  on,  the 
proportion  of  male  and  female  teachers,  and  the  average  sala- 
ries paid  them  per  month. 

If  we  compare  these  figures  with  those  of  two  agricultural 
counties,  Berks  and  Susquehanna,  we  find  that  the  percentage 
of  male  teachers  in  the  latter  is  much  higher  than  in  the  coal 
fields,  and  the  average  salaries   paid   both  male   and    female 


OUR  EDUCATIONAL 

APPARATUS. 

159 

County. 

Ij 

li 

s  o 

a  «  « 

Average 

Monthly 

Salary  of 

Male  Teachers. 

Average 
Monthly 
Salary  of 
Female 
Teachers. 

r  Schuylkill 

595 
795 
643 
50 
44 
182 

848 
323 

472 

812 

176  or  29.4% 
160  "  20.1 

71  "  11.4 
12  "  24.0 
17  "  38.6 
51  "  28.1 

380  "44.8 

72  "  22.2 

158  "  33.4 
301  "  37.0 

419  or  71.6% 
635  "79.9 
572  "88.6 
38  "  76.0 
27  "  61.4 
131  "  71.9 

468  "55.2 
251  "77.8 

314  "66.6 
511  "63.0 

$65.61 
70.31 
70.74 
53.90 
56.12 
65.67 

36.36 
40.31 

42.98 
53.97 

$40.96 
42.21 

s 

IjUzerne 

Lackawanna 

Carbon 

89.97 
35.18 

CJ 

Dauphin 

34  65 

< 

1^ 

Northumberland. 
Berks 

43.01 
32.13 

[Susquehanna 

Clearfield 

25.32 
33.43 

.Westmoreland  ... 

41.10 

teachers  are  lower.  A  comparison  with  two  bituminous  coun- 
ties shows  a  larger  percentage  of  male  teachers  employed  there, 
while  the  average  salaries  paid  per  month  are  lower,  excepting 
that  paid  females  in  Westmoreland  county,  which  exceeds  the 
general  average  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  by  51  cents  per 
month.  These  comparisons,  as  well  as  that  made  of  the  teachers 
of  the  State  as  a  whole,  show  that  the  percentage  of  female 
teachers  in  our  communities  is  higher  than  the  general  average, 
while  the  salaries  paid  them  are  also  higher.  The  large  per- 
centage of  female  teachers  employed  in  our  schools  is  accounted 
for  by  the  fact  that  there  are  very  few  other  openings  for  girls 
to  make  a  living  in  these  coal  fields,  and  the  ambitious  daugh- 
ters of  mine  workers,  anxious  to  secure  means  to  supply  their 
increased  wants  under  a  rising  standard  of  living,  crowd  the 
teaching  profession  where  good  salaries  are  paid,  if  compared 
with  salaries  earned  by  young  women  in  stores  and  offices. 
Young  ladies  in  these  coal  fields  who  have  charge  of  large 
stores  or  departments  therein  get  only  $8  or  $10  a  week,  of 
72  hours'  work.  Female  teachers  get  $40.59  for  about  160 
hours'  work. 

Is  it  to  the  best  interest  of  the  pupils  to  have  so  many 
female  teachers  in  our  schools  ?  In  raising  the  question  we 
readily  confess  that  the  average  female  teacher  in  our  territory 
is  capable  and  does  her  work  well.  Nevertheless,  half  our 
school  population  is  male   and    the   growing  boy  should    be 


160  ANTHRACITE    COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

brought  into  contact  with  qualities  which  are  distinctively  pos 
sessed  by  the  male  and  which  he  is  expected  to  exercise  as  h 
enters  upon  his  life  work.*  The  male  and  the  female  hav 
characteristics  peculiarly  their  own  ;  each  is  complementary  t 
the  other.  When  we  meet  qualities  admirably  suited  to  ; 
female  in  a  male  they  appear  ludicrous  if  not  worthy  of  disdain 
Is  it  best  for  the  boy  in  our  schools  to  be  daily  subjected  t 
characteristics  which,  if  he  acquires  them,  will  subject  him  t 
ridicule  and  contempt  in  life  ?  When  we  come  to  the  highe 
grades,  there  are  other  considerations  besides  the  psychologica 
ones  which  enter  into  the  question.  We  have  some  borough 
in  our  territory  where  no  male  teacher  is  engaged,  so  that,  fron 
the  primary  department  to  the  time  of  graduation  in  the  higl 
school,  the  boy  is  wholly  under  female  instruction  and  example 
Boys  generally  graduate  when  18  years  of  age,  and  the  aver 
age  age  of  teachers  in  our  counties  is  26  years.  Girls  from  1« 
to  22  form  a  large  percentage  of  the  teaching  force  in  minin| 
towns  and  villages,  and  can  any  student  of  human  nature  affirn 
that  the  influences,  unconsciously  exerted  on  the  lad  of  15  o: 
16  years  in  public  schools  under  female  educators,  are  best  fo: 
the  boys  ?  More  male  teachers  ought  to  be  engaged,  and  what 
ever  obstacle  is  in  the  way  of  their  entering  the  profession  an( 
making  it  their  life  work,  should  be  removed.  The  educatioi 
of  our  youth  ought  to  be  our  first  consideration  and  under  ex 
isting  conditions  a  wrong  is  done  to  the  growing  manhood  o 
our  counties. 

The  selection  and  appointment  of  teachers  are  made  by  the 
board  of  directors,  who  are  elected  by  public  vote.  In  ever} 
borough  and  township  there  is  a  political  organization  and  can- 
didates for  the  offices  of  directors  of  public  schools  must,  as  s 
rule,  get  the  endorsement  of  the  ward  or  township  political 
leaders  before  their  nomination  and  election  are  sure.  Politics 
thus  enter  into  the  public  school  system,  and  their  baneful  influ- 
ence is  apparent  in  many  of  our  towns  and  villages.     Many 

*  An  article  of  Professor  Sanford  Bell,  M.A.,  of  Mt.  Holyoke  College,  re- 
cently published  in  the  Independent  corroborates  this  judgment.  His  con- 
clusion is  that  for  the  period  of  adolescence  the  more  decisive  and  aggressive 
influences  of  male  teachers  should  lead. 


OUR  EDUCATIONAL  APPARATUS.  161 

scandals  due  to  the  greed,  nepotism,  corruption  and  misappro- 
priation of  school  directors  have  been  exposed  in  our  communi- 
ties, while  in  almost  every  borough  men  seek  the  office  of 
director  in  order  that  their  child  or  relative  may  have  an  ap- 
pointment as  a  teacher.  Instances  exist  where  county  superin- 
tendents, fully  competent  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  office, 
have  been  ousted  from  their  position  because  they  refused  to 
be  governed  by  directors  in  the  question  of  granting  certificates 
of  qualification  to  teach.  The  superintendent  of  Luzerne  county 
says  in  his  report  of  1901,  that  a  few  of  the  teachers  are  drones, 
who  are  kept  in  the  school  because  "  they  have  political  influ- 
ence or  a  friend  on  the  board.''  The  superintendent  of  the  Dun- 
more  schools  said  in  1900  :  "  There  have  been  many  changes  in 
the  teaching  force  during  the  last  two  years,  mainly  on  account 
of  politics.  Nationality,  politics,  religion  and  favoritism  should 
not  enter  into  school  affairs,  as  they  always  result  in  injury  to 
the  schools."  One  of  the  directors  of  Schuylkill  county  scored 
his  own  class  for  seeking  their  own  interest  and  not  that  of  the 
public  in  the  discharge  of  their  office,  and  affirmed  that  boards 
seek  "  political  influence  and  prestige  rather  than  the  welfare 
of  the  rising  generation  in  their  town  or  borough." 

The  quality  of  men  elected  to  the  important  office  of  school 
director  is  far  from  what  it  ought  to  be.  Is  a  man  who  knows 
not  how  to  read  and  write  the  English  language  qualified  to  ex- 
3rcise  intelligent  supervision  over  institutions  where  the  youths 
ire  taught  their  mother  tongue  ?  What  has  the  fact  that  a  man 
is  a  Republican  or  a  Democrat  to  do  with  his  capacity  to  be  a 
school  director?  Many  are  elected  to  this  office  because  they 
ire  good  party  men  and  not  because  they  are  qualified  to  serve 
:he  borough  by  high  ideals  of  what  a  public  school  ought  to  be. 
There  are  in  our  boroughs  excellent  men  who  are  capable, 
lonest  and  faithful,  but  these  are  generally  kept  out  of  office ; 
f  a  few  of  them  are  chosen  they  are  hampered  and  dis- 
credited by  the  minions  of  the  machine,  and  their  efforts  at 
'eform  frustrated.  When  a  saloon  keeper  or  a  local  politician 
ncapable  of  earning  a  decent  livelihood  gets  on  the  school 
)oard,  he  feels  that  he  is  fully  competent  to  direct  the  educa- 
12 


162  ANTHRACITE    COAL     COMMUNITIES. 

tion  of  the  young  and  dictate  methods  to  the  superintendent  o 
teachers.  The  electors  themselves  think  not  that  the  succes 
and  efficiency  of  the  public  school  largely  depend  upon  th 
quality  of  the  school  board,  and  that  the  best  interests  of  th 
schools  demand  that  candidates  for  these  honorable  office 
should  themselves  have  had  a  good  education  and  have  studie 
the  literature  of  pedagogics.  Teachers  have  a  great  duty  t 
perform  in  educating  the  boards  of  directors,  and  working  fc 
the  elimination  of  the  "spoils  system  ^'  from  our  public  schoc 
directorship.  Much  good  is  being  done  by  the  Directors'  Assc 
elation,  where  attention  is  called  to  required  improvements  i 
the  personnel  and  competency  of  school  boards,  and  an  exchang 
of  ideas  between  directors  and  educators  is  made.  These  meet 
ings  will  undoubtedly  do  much  to  arouse  public  attention  to  th 
necessary  qualifications  of  school  directors,  and  will  ultimatel 
bring  forward  a  better  type  of  men  as  candidates  for  the  offic( 
In  mining  towns,  however,  the  first  step  in  the  necessary  r€ 
form  is  to  eliminate  both  the  influence  of  the  local  machin 
and  the  saloon  in  the  election  of  school  directors.  If  this  i 
not  done,  reform  is  hopeless,  and  the  citizens  w^ill  have  to  sub 
mit  the  care  of  their  children's  education  to  agencies  that  corrup 
and  debase. 

The  political  type  of  school  director,  which  unfortunate! 
prevails  in  these  mining  communities  with  rare  exception,  i 
detrimental  to  the  selection  of  teachers  upon  whom  depend 
the  efficiency  of  our  schools.  Dr.  Schaeffer  says  that  "  one  can 
not  help  admiring  the  courage  and  wisdom  which  many  schoc 
boards  display  in  resisting  political  influences  when  they  selec 
their  teachers,''  but  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  the  Superin 
tendent  of  Public  Instruction  would  have  few  instances  t 
kindle  his  admiration  for  the  type  of  men  he  depicts.  "  War 
politics,  church  politics,  family  politics,  and  sympathy  pol: 
tics  "  come  into  play,  and  the  qualifications  of  the  applicani 
are  secondary  considerations. 

The  teachers  must  obtain  certificates  of  qualification  befoi 
they  are  able  to  teach,  but  they  may  teach  holding  only  a  pre 
visional   certificate,   which    must   be  annually  renewed.      I 


A  Group  of  Anglo-Saxon  School  Children. 


A  Group  of  Sclav  School  Children. 


OUR    EDUCATIONAL    APPARATUS.  163 

Lackawanna  county  the  number  of  teachers  holding  pro- 
visional certificates  has  been  reduced  from  75  per  cent,  in  1893 
to  28  per  cent,  in  1901.  So  that  in  this  county  72  per  cent, 
of  the  teachers  now  hold  professional  certificates.  In  Luzerne 
county  only  6.1  per  cent,  hold  professional  certificates,  and  in 
Schuylkill  county  the  percentage  is  still  less,  being  only  5.6. 
Young  girls,  living  in  the  township  or  borough  and  holding 
provisional  certificates,  secure  positions  as  teachers  when  others 
far  better  qualified  are  discharged. 

One  of  our  county  superintendents  said  in  his  report  of  1901 : 
"  It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  as  the  number  of  teachers  in- 
creases in  some  districts  the  board  begins  to  make  room  by 
dropping  from  the  list  those  who  are  non-residents.'^  This 
tendency  of  school  boards  to  hire  local  residents  as  teachers 
draws  also  a  protest  from  the  State  Superintendent,  who  affirms 
in  the  same  year :  "  To  prevent  the  influx  of  teachers  from 
rural  districts  and  to  reserve  lucrative  positions  for  their  own 
people,  city  authorities  are  constantly  tempted  to  build  around 
themselves  a  Chinese  wall  in  the  form  of  local  regulations 
which  force  the  employment  of  home  talent  regardless  of  teach- 
ing ability,  and  lead  to  results  similar  to  deteriorating  effects 
that  follow  from  constant  inbreeding  on  the  farm."  In  all 
our  boroughs  and  townships  the  tendency  is  to  hire  local  talent 
and  shut  out  all  outside  applicants.  It  is  the  bane  of  politics 
whose  cardinal  doctrine  is  the  "  spoils  system.'' 

Under  this  system  corruption  is  inevitable.  Candidates  run 
for  the  office  of  director  for  the  sole  purpose  of  securing  posi- 
tions for  their  relatives.  In  the  town  of  Shenandoah  6Q,6 
per  cent,  of  the  positions  in  the  public  schools  are  held  by  rep- 
resentatives of  a  people  that  does  not  form  20  per  cent,  of  the 
population.  In  the  town  of  Olyphant,  a  few  years  ago,  the  18 
teachers  were  of  the  same  nationality,  which  formed  only  about 
33  per  cent,  of  the  population.  The  priest,  a  public-spirited 
and  broad-minded  gentleman,  vigorously  denounced  the  injus- 
tice from  the  altar  and  exerted  his  influence  to  right  the  wrong. 

In  the  matter  of  the  selection  of  teachers  questions  of  na- 
tionality and  religion  often  enter.     The  borough  of  Dunmore 


164  ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

was  for  many  years  the  scene  of  struggle  between  conflictin} 
creeds  in  the  selection  of  teachers,  and  both  contestants  wer 
equally  acrimonious  and  vindictive.  We  have  boroughs  wher 
religious  creed  is  an  impassable  barrier  to  an  appointment  n^ 
matter  what  be  the  qualifications  of  the  applicant.  In  thi 
matter  both  Protestants  and  Catholics  are  equally  guilty 
National  bias  and  religious  bigotry  are  anachronisms.  The; 
have  no  place  in  our  age  and  generation,  and  in  no  departmen 
of  human  life  is  their  baneful  influence  more  deplorable  thai 
in  our  public  school  system. 

There  is  great  need  of  reform  in  the  personnel  of  our  schoo 
boards  and  the  reform  can  only  come  by  a  higher  conceptioi 
by  electors  of  the  qualifications  of  directors.  A  board  tha 
will,  each  time  its  political  complexion  changes,  oust  50  pe; 
cent,  of  the  37  teachers  engaged  by  it,  for  no  other  reason  thai 
"  to  the  victor  belongs  the  spoils,''  is  a  curse.  A  board  tha 
will  buy  a  plot  of  ground  for  school  purposes  and  pay  three 
fold  its  market  value  is  a  public  enemy.  Members  who  wil 
demand  bribes  from  superintendents  and  teachers  before  the] 
w^ll  vote  for  their  appointment  are  wholly  oblivious  of  thei 
public  duty  and  devoid  of  conscience.  Janitors  and  teacher; 
are  held  up  by  these  corruptionists,  who  demand  a  portion  oi 
their  hard-earned  salaries  before  they  will  be  their  "  friend.' 
Others  will  hold  up  bills  for  honest  work  and  refuse  to  pa} 
them  until  the  collector  consents  to  a  5  or  a  10  per  cent 
"  shave."  They  are  hawks  ever  on  the  watch  for  prey  anc 
they  think  it  no  great  harm  to  make  something  out  of  thei: 
official  opportunities  at  the  public  expense.  From  such  mei 
our  school  system  suffers.  As  long  as  they  are  elected  U 
office,  bribery  and  corruption  will  exist.  Upon  needy  teacher.' 
and  janitors  they  practice  their  art  and  fall  to  a  depth  fron 
which  it  might  be  thought  that  the  dullest  conscience  wouk 
shrink. 

The  Boys  and  Girls  in  School. 

There  were  enrolled  in  our  schools  for  the  year  1901-1902 
123,384  pupils.  The  schools  of  purely  mining  communitief 
are  generally  full.     There  are  in  these  boroughs  and  townships 


OUR   EDUCATIONAL  APPARATUS. 


165 


an  average  of  202.9  pupils  enrolled  per  1,000  population. 
There  is  considerable  variation  in  the  eight  counties  which  will 
be  seen  by  the  following  table : 


Lackawanna 

Co., 

182.1  per 

1,000  popu 

Luzerne 

206.1    '' 

Schuylkill 

210.6   " 

Dauphin 

217.1    '' 

Carbon 

222.1    " 

Northumberland 

196  3!" 

Susquehanna 

*'  (Forest  City) 

194.0   " 

Columbia 

195.0   '' 

Clearfield 

"  (Bituminous) 

215.1    " 

Westmoreland 

a               (( 

208.6   " 

Berks 

"  (Agricultural; 

193.0    " 

Susquehanna 

It              ti 

208.6    '* 

lation. 


If  we  compare  these  counties  with  two  counties  in  the  bitumi- 
nous coal  fields  and  with  two  agricultural  counties,  we  do  not 
find  much  difference. 

According  to  the  census  of  1900  there  was  33.7  per  cent, 
of  the  population  of  mining  towns  from  the  age  of  5  to  20 
years.  This  gives  us  a  population  of  134,800  youths  to  whom 
educational  privileges  are  offered,  and  whose  usefulness  to  so- 
ciety largely  depends  upon  the  influence  exerted  upon  them  by 
our  system  of  public  instruction. 

The  State  law  provides  that  no  less  than  seven  months'  or 
140  days'  schooling  be  given  the  pupils,  and  no  less  than  four 
months  of  night  school  can  be  given.  We  have  seen  that  the 
average  in  mining  communities  is  nine  months,  and  in  almost 
every  borough  the  advantages  of  night  school  are  offered  those 
who  work  in  the  breakers  or  mines.  The  superintendent  of 
the  public  schools  of  Hazleton,  in  his  report  for  1902,  states  : 
"For  the  first  time  in  several  years,  night  schools  were  asked 
for  and  opened."  This  is  an  exception.  In  every  borough 
night  schools  are  opened. 

The  number  of  our  schools,  our  teaching  force,  the  appro- 
priations made  for  school  purposes,  the  length  of  the  school 
year,  and  the  equipment  of  the  various  schools,  in  the  anthra- 


166  ANTHRACITE    CX)AL    COMMUNITIES. 

cite  coal  fields  are  not  excelled  in  any  part  of  the  State,  outsidt 
Philadelphia  and  Pittsburg,  so  that  whatever  defect  there  is  ii 
the  educational  qualifications  of  the  youths  raised  in  thes( 
regions  the  fault  is  not  the  lack  of  appliances  to  train  them. 

One  of  the  directors  of  Schuylkill  county  said  in  1900  :  "  9^ 
per  cent,  of  all  pupils  never  go  above  the  common  grades.' 
The  superintendent  of  Mahanoy  City  schools  said  in  a  recen 
report  that  there  are  two  or  three  girls  for  every  boy  in  th« 
grammar  schools.  The  superintendent  of  the  Hazleton  school; 
said  :  "  In  our  schools  up  to  ten  years  of  age,  the  number  o 
boys  and  girls  is  about  equal  in  the  classes,  but  when  we  ex 
amine  the  classes  where  pupils  are  from  ten  to  fourteen  years  W( 
observe  that  the  girls  outnumber  the  boys  about  four  to  one.' 
The  superintendent  of  the  Dunmore  schools  said  :  "  It  is  j 
matter  of  regret  that  so  many  of  our  young  children  are  takei 
out  of  school  and  put  to  work  in  factories  and  mines  before  th^ 
simple  rudiments  of  a  good  education  have  been  completed.' 
In  1902,  the  same  gentleman  reports:  "Girls  and  boys  whos- 
ages  range  from  9  to  12  years,  are  employed  in  mills,  fac 
tories  and  breakers,  and  this  with  the  consent  of  the  parents.' 
The  superintendent  of  Lackawanna  county  said  in  1901  :  "Ii 
mining  districts  the  night  school  reports  show  that  a  larg 
number  of  boys  under  the  age  of  thirteen  years  is  employe* 
in  the  coal  breakers.  These  boys  are  getting  only  two  or  thre 
months'  instruction  in  night  schools  each  year."  In  speakiuj 
of  the  public  school  opportunities,  the  superintendent  of  th 
Wilkesbarre  schools  says :  "  It  is  very  unfortunate  too,  fo 
many  homes  are  really  obliged  to  make  a  sacrifice  of  these  op 
portunities.  ...  It  is  not  the  wish  of  the  average  miner  t- 
deprive  his  children  of  the  advantages  of  the  public  school.' 
In  every  section  of  the  anthracite  coal  fields  the  same  condi 
tions  prevail.  The  boys  of  the  mine  workers  as  a  rule  leav 
school  before  they  enter  grammar  B,  and  the  girls  are  ver 
little  better.  In  most  boroughs  the  girls  outnumber  the  boy 
three  to  one  in  the  grammar  grades,  and  the  same  is  true  i 
the  high  schools.  In  December,  1902,  Superintendent  Tayloi 
of  Lackawanna  county,  addressed  a  circular  letter  to  principal 


OUR  EDUCATIONAL  APPARATUS.  167 

of  schools  in  mining  towns.  We  give  the  answers  of  these  gen- 
tlemen in  the  tabulated  form  on  page  166.  The  two  last  dis- 
tricts are  agricultural,  which  present  a  striking  contrast  with 
the  others. 

According  to  the  observation  of  these  men  the  average  school 
life  of  the  boys  of  mine  workers  would  not  be  four  and  one 
half  years,  while  that  of  the  girls  would  be  a  fraction  over  five 
years.  This  means  that  the  boys  leave  school  before  they  are 
eleven  years  of  age  and  the  girls  before  they  are  twelve.  In 
these  boroughs  the  number  of  scholars  in  the  high  school  is 
small  and,  of  these,  very  few  are  mine  workers'  children.  The 
answers  also  show  that  27  per  cent,  of  the  children  of  school 
age  in  these  boroughs  are  out  of  school,  while  an  investigation 
of  the  average  age  of  those  working  in  violation  of  the  State 
law  gave  10.7  years.  The  boys  are  generally  employed  in  and 
around  the  mines,  while  the  girls  are  employed  in  the  mills. 
The  following  table  gives  the  number  of  children  employed 
under  age  in  the  above-mentioned  boroughs  : 

Age.  Number  Employed. 

9  Years 133 

10  "  284 

11  "  254 

12  "  221 

13  ** 85 

Total 977 

This  list  is  not  complete.  The  labor  entailed  in  compiling 
a  complete  list  of  all  the  children  working  in  the  boroughs 
would  be  great,  while  it  is  impossible  to  get  the  accurate  age 
of  children  when  the  system  of  registration  of  births  is  so  in- 
exact as  at  present. 

A  careful  study  of  the  borough  of  Olyphant,  by  Principal 
M.  W.  Cummings,  reviealed  that  33.4  per  cent,  of  the  boys 
from  8  to  13  years  was  out  of  school,  and  16.7  per  cent,  of 
the  girls  of  that  age.  Of  boys  between  the  ages  of  8  and  16 
years,  254  or  47.3  per  cent,  were  out  of  school :  there  were 
enrolled  in  night  schools  124,  but  less  than  50  per  cent,  of  these 
attended  regularly.     Hence  in  this  borough  of  6,100  popula- 


168 


ANTHRACITE    COAL,     COMMUNITIES. 


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OUR  EDUCATIONAL  APPARATUS.  169 

tion,  about  200  boys  grow  up  without  having  mastered  the 
rudiments  of  a  common  school  education.  The  average  age 
of  132  scholars  in  the  night  schools  of  Olyphant  was  13  years. 
Eight  of  these  were  girls  employed  in  the  silk  mill,  and  the 
average  age  at  which  they  began  work  was  12.1  years  ;  1 24  were 
boys  who  began  work  at  an  average  age  of  11.05  years.  Mr. 
Cummings  stated  that  it  was  constantly  necessary  to  advance 
pupils  from  the  lower  grades  to  the  higher,  before  they  were 
actually  qualified,  in  order  to  maintain  the  proportion  of  the 
schools  because  of  the  exodus  of  boys  and  girls  before  they 
complete  the  course  in  Grammar  B.,  while  in  night  schools  all 
they  attempt  to  teach  are  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic.  The 
average  scholar  in  the  night  school  cannot  read  or  write  with 
any  proficiency. 

The  same  conditions  prevail  in  all  our  mining  towns  and 
boroughs.  A  careful  computation  of  the  average  age  at  which 
children  left  school  in  the  town  of  Mahanoy  City  resulted  in 
fixing  it  at  11.26  years.  Of  the  boys  of  school  age  (6  to  13 
years)  over  14  per  cent,  were  out  of  school,  and  over  15  per 
cent,  of  the  girls.  In  the  ward  inhabited  by  Sclavs  in  the 
above  town  the  assessors  confessed  that  it  was  impossible  to 
get  an  accurate  list  of  the  children  of  school  age.  If  a  correct 
list  was  made  the  percentage  of  absentees  would  be  higher. 
The  superintendent  of  Nanticoke  schools  said  it  is  compara- 
tively easy  to  enforce  the  compulsory  school  law  when  facto- 
ries and  breakers  are  idle,  but  as  soon  as  these  begin  opera- 
tions it  is  impossible.  During  the  six  months'  strike  of  the 
Susquehanna  Coal  Company  in  Nanticoke  in  the  winter  of 
1899,  the  influx  of  breaker  boys  of  school  age  into  the  public 
school  was  so  great  that  the  board  resolved  to  open  two  schools 
to  accommodate  them,  for  to  incorporate  them  in  the  regular 
classes  would  practically  destroy  the  year's  work  in  those 
classes. 

If  we  take  typical  schools  in  mining  towns  we  find  that  the 
majority  of  scholars  leave  before  they  enter  the  grammar  grades. 
The  table  on  the  next  page  gives  examples  of  this. 

The  four  first  grades  are  passed  by  the  average  child  before 


170 


ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 


Town. 

Total 
Enrollment, 

In  Primary 
Grades. 

In  Grammar 
Grades. 

In  the  High 
School. 

Nnntipnlrp      . 

1,918 
2,012 
821 
1,813 
2,899 

1,418  or  73.9% 
1,567   "  77.8 
591    "  72.0 
1,477   "  80.4 
2,366   "  81.6 

413  or  21. 6% 
319  "  15.9 
205  "24.9 
314  "17.1 
453  "15.6 

87  or  4.5% 
126  "  6.3 
25  "  3.1 

Mahanoy  City 

Olyphant 

Mt.  Carmel 

76  "  2.5 

Shenandoah 

80  "  2.8 

he  is  eleven  years  of  age,  so  that  from  50  to  60  per  cent,  of  th< 
children  leave  school  before  they  enter  the  grammar  grades 
while  the  number  of  pupils  entering  the  high  school  does  no 
amount  to  4  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  scholars.  If  W' 
take  the  schools  of  Scranton  with  its  mixed  population  an( 
where  the  mine  workers  only  form  about  30  per  cent,  of  th- 
population,  we  find  the  very  same  conditions.  There  ar« 
15,733  scholars  enrolled;  of  these  11,657  or  74.1  per  cent 
are  in  departments  which  correspond  to  the  primary  grades  ii 
the  above  table ;  3,072  or  19.5  per  cent,  in  the  grammar  grades 
and  1,004  or  6.4  per  cent,  in  the  high  school.  A  study  of  th- 
reports  of  other  cities,  where  the  industrial  classes  live,  such  a 
Newark,  N.  J.,  and  Springfield,  Mass.,  reveals  the  same  condi 
tions.  The  children  of  the  industrial  classes  leave  school  whei 
tbey  are  about  11  years  of  age,  and  in  this  the  pupils  ii 
mining  regions  form  no  exception.* 

An  investigation  into  the  conditions  of  schools  in  smal 
mining  camps  revealed  still  more  deplorable  conditions.  Her 
from  90  to  95  per  cent,  of  the  scholars  do  not  advance  beyonc 
the  primary  department.  The  teacher  is  handicapped,  becaus 
the  scholars  cannot  be  graded,  and  hence  the  children  do  no 
advance  so  rapidly  as  in  larger  schools.  If  we  add  to  this  th" 
fact  that  many  teachers  in  mining  camps  take  little  interest  ii 
their  work  and  regard  it  only  as  a  make-shift  for  something 
that  is  better,  we  can  readily  see  that  the  complaints  of  parent 
in  mining  camps  are  not  wholly  without  foundation,  who  sa; 
that  "  their  children  learn  very  little  in  these  schools." 

*  An  investigation  into  the  high  schools  of  the  eighteen  large  cities  c 
Pennsylvania  revealed  the  same  conditions  as  are  found  in  the  anthracit 
regions.  See  an  article  by  the  author  in  the  November  (1903)  number  c 
the  Pennsylvania  School  Journal  on  the  "High  Schools  of  our  State." 


OUR  EDUCATIONAL  APPARATUS.  171 

The  privileges  of  higher  education  are  offered  in  our  cities  and 
most  of  our  boroughs,  and  by  the  law  of  1899  townships  of 
over  5,000  inhabitants  can  also  secure  State  aid  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  high  schools.  But  it  may  be  safely  said  that  very 
few  children  of  the  industrial  classes  enter  the  high  school.  In 
the  city  of  Scranton  only  10  per  cent,  of  all  scholars  in  the  high 
school  were  children  of  men  employed  in  or  around  the  mines, 
while  the  mining  population  of  that  city  forms  about  30  per 
cent,  of  the  whole.  In  boroughs  of  from  6,000  to  20,000 
population,  the  percentage  of  mine  employees'  children  in  high 
schools  would  vary  from  19  to  35  per  cent.,  while  the  mining 
population  is  from  80  to  95  per  cent.  Wilkesbarre  leads  all  our 
schools  in  the  percentage  of  its  scholars  in  the  high  school,  which 
is  7.93  per  cent. ;  Scranton  has  6.4  per  cent. ;  Dunmore  4.4  per 
cent. ;  Carbondale  6.15  per  cent. ;  Mahanoy  City  6.3  per  cent. ; 
Mt.  Carmel  2.98  per  cent. ;  Nanticoke  4.5  per  cent. ;  and 
Shenandoah  2.8  per  cent.  Of  the  scholars  entering  the  high 
schools  not  more  than  25  per  cent,  graduate.  Taking  the  min- 
ing regions  generally  the  percentage  of  scholars  graduating  from 
the  high  schools  is  less  than  2  per  cent.  And  this  2  per  cent, 
belongs  to  families  well  able  to  pay  for  higher  education.  Adam 
Smith  said  it  was  the  duty  of  the  state  to  strive  to  educate  the 
poor  and  leave  the  education  of  the  rich  to  itself.  If  we  esti- 
mate the  money  spent  in  teachers,  books  and  equipments  in 
high  schools  per  capita  pupil  taught  there,  we  find  it  is  far  in 
excess  of  the  cost  per  pupil  in  the  primary  department,  so  that 
our  society  has  gone  contrary  to  the  suggestion  of  the  above 
teacher  and  philosopher.  In  the  24  high  schools  in  the  anthra- 
cite coal  fields,  the  average  number  of  pupils  per  teacher  in 
1901  was  32,  and  the  teacher's  salary  ranges  from  $75  to  $125 
a  month.  Thus  the  average  number  of  scholars  taught  by 
teachers  in  high  schools  is  about  half  that  taught  by  those  in 
the  grammar  and  primary  grades,  while  their  salary  is  double 
that  of  the  latter.  It  is  an  interesting  fact  also  that  the  girls 
form  about  61  per  cent,  of  the  scholars  in  the  high  schools. 
One  of  our  superintendents  comments  on  this  in  his  report  of 
1900  :  "  It  is  a  serious  state  of  affairs  when  we  consider  that  of 


172  ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

the  number  promoted  into  the  high  school  each  year  not  25  pi 
cent,  are  boys,  and  not  2  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number  of  bo} 
enrolled  ever  reach  that  department."  In  the  24  high  schoo 
in  our  territory  in  1901  there  were  3,358  scholars,  1,312,  or  3 
per  cent,  were  male,  and  2,046,  or  61  per  cent,  female ;  49 
graduated  that  year,  of  whom  189,  or  37.9  percent,  were  mak 
and  310,  or  62.1  per  cent.,  were  female.  In  1902,  the  pei 
centages  of  scholars  were,  male  40  and  female  60 ;  those  of  th 
graduates  were,  male  36.8  and  female  63.2. 

In  mining  towns  night  schools  are  opened.  Attendance  t 
night  schools  depends  upon  the  industrial  condition  of  the  peopL 
It  is  a  fact  that  the  more  prosperous  the  times  the  more  chi^ 
dren  are  employed,  and  the  more  children  taken  out  of  the  da 
schools  the  larger  the  attendance  at  night  schools.  The  supei 
intendent  of  Wilkesbarre  schools  said  that  the  number  of  pupil 
enrolled  in  the  public  schools  in  1900  was  the  same  as  that  c 
the  previous  year,  while  from  1893  to  1899  there  was  a  norms 
increase.  He  explains  this  by  saying  that  it  was  not  due  to 
static  condition  of  the  population  but  *^  to  the  improvement  c 
the  times  and  that  children  are  more  generally  employed  in  th 
mines,  factories  and  mills  than  they  were  during  the  severa 
preceding  years  (1893-1899)."  In  the  year  1898  the  numbe 
of  pupils  in  the  night  schools  of  Scranton  was  1,539,  but  h 
1900  the  enrollment  was  2,883. 

The  efforts  made  to  teach  children  in  night  schools  are  no 
productive  of  large  results.  Without  exception  teachers  speal 
disparagingly  of  these  attempts.  In  the  first  month  the  enroll 
ment  is  from  10  to  15  per  cent,  of  the  number  of  day  pupils 
but  before  the  first  month  is  ended  25  per  cent,  of  the  enroll 
ment  has  ceased  to  attend,  and  about  50  per  cent,  only  wouh 
be  the  average  attendance  during  the  four  months,  while  man^ 
of  the  schools  are  closed  before  the  four  months  are  ended.  Ii 
Ashland,  105  were  enrolled  but  the  average  attendance  wa 
only  40.  In  Carbondale,  171  were  enrolled  but  the  superin- 
tendent says  :  "  Attendance  was  very  irregular  and  the  resul 
was  not  satisfactory."  In  Dunmore,  300  pupils  were  enrollec 
but  not  50  per  cent,  of  them  attended  regularly.     In  Mahano} 


OUR  EDUCATIONAL  APPARATUS.  173 

City,  247  were  enrolled  with  an  average  attendance  of  159. 
In  Mahanoy  township,  400  were  enrolled  and  less  than  50  per 
cent,  attended  regularly.  In  Mt.  Carmel,  257  were  enrolled 
and  the  average  attendance  was  40.  In  Hazleton,  236  were  en- 
rolled and  the  average  attendance  was  100.  The  superintendent 
of  Lackawanna  county  said  in  1901 :  "  Nearly  all  our  mining 
districts  have  night  schools  open  three  or  four  months  in  the 
year.  But  these  schools  are  a  poor  substitute  for  the  regular  and 
systematic  instruction  given  in  day  schools,  and  in  many  cases, 
encourage  the  people  to  send  boys  and  girls  to  work  in  coal 
mines,  breakers  and  mills  several  years  sooner  than  they  would 
if  these  night  schools  did  not  exist." 

Young  boys  who  have  worked  during  the  day  are  tired  and 
cannot  concentrate  their  attention  on  the  lessons.  The  night 
schools  are  seldom  graded  and  generally  the  teachers  engaged 
are  young  girls  who  gain  their  first  experience  in  the  art  of 
teaching  there.  If  we  add  to  this  that  the  number  of  pupils  to 
a  teacher  is  not  large,  we  can  well  understand  that  a  combina- 
tion of  circumstances  makes  the  night  school  an  institution 
little  calculated  to  inspire  the  ardor  of  the  pupils.  The  sum 
spent  in  Scranton  for  night  schools  amounts  to  $5  per  capita  of 
scholars  enrolled.  If  the  average  attendance  was  50  per 
cent,  below  the  enrollment,  it  would  be  $10  per  scholar  for 
four  months  or  134  hours'  tuition.  The  day  schools  cost  $18.17 
per  scholar  for  990  hours'  tuition.  By  this  comparison  the 
night  schools  cost  about  four  times  as  much  as  the  day  schools 
and  still  the  consensus  of  opinion  of  those  who  conduct  them 
is  that  the  results  are  very  unsatisfactory. 

There  are  many  children  in  the  parochial  schools.  The  work 
done  by  them  varies  in  character.  When  they  come  in  contact 
with  the  public  school  they  feel  the  stress  of  competition  and 
follow  the  pace  set  by  the  latter.  This  is  true  of  the  schools 
of  the  English-speaking  Catholics.  There  are  many  Sclav 
parochial  schools  which  do  not  compete  with  public  schools,  and 
the  children  who  attend  these  are  far  behind  those  of  their  age 
in  the  public  schools.  The  law  requires  that  instruction  in  the 
English  branches  be  given  daily  to  each  pupil  of  school  age. 


174      •  ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

There  are  Sclav  parochial  schools  where  English-speakir 
teachers  are  engaged  to  give  instruction  in  the  English  langua^ 
one  half  of  each  day,  but  there  are  others  which  do  not  enga^ 
such  teachers.  The  teacher  in  charge  is  a  Sclav  and  there 
reason  to  believe  that  no  instruction  is  given  in  the  Englis 
branches.  Sclav  children  who  are  not  taught  the  language  < 
our  country  in  school,  learn  it  as  best  they  may  on  the  strc' 
and  in  the  breaker,  and  the  English  they  learn  is  vile  and  r* 
pulsive  in  the  extreme.  Considerations  of  public  policy  an 
social  well  being  ought  to  lead  the  men  in  charge  of  thef 
schools  to  see  that  lack  of  familiarity  with  the  English  langua^ 
will  be  a  great  hindrance  to  the  social  and  industrial  advance 
ment  of  their  children.  No  one  will  be  injured  by  this  polic 
as  the  children  themselves,  and  in  this  the  Sclavs  stand  in  the: 
own  light. 

It  would  seem  also  desirable  that  all  parochial  schools  mat 
an  annual  report  to  the  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instrm 
tion,  giving  such  information  as  would  interest  the  public  an 
showing  that  they  comply  with  the  State  law  as  to  the  require 
ments  of  teaching  the  English  branches.  This  informatio 
every  citizen,  either  native  or  foreign  born,  should  be  willin 
to  give  and  the  State  Superintendent  to  receive. 

The  Boys  in  the  Breakers. 

One  of  our  superintendents  said  that  the  boys  in  the  anthra 
cite  coal  fields  graduate  from  the  breakers  and  the  mines.  I 
is  appropriate  then  to  add  the  breaker  as  a  school  where  ou 
boys  are  trained.  Letourneau  said  that  the  Targui  womei 
knew  how  to  read  and  write  in  greater  numbers  than  the  men 
That  is  the  case  with  those  raised  in  our  territory.  The  girl 
are  better  educated  than  the  boys. 

In  the  breakers  of  the  anthracite  coal  industry  there  ar 
nearly  18,000  persons  employed  as  slate  pickers.  The  majorit; 
of  these  are  boys  from  the  ages  of  10  to  14  years.  In  ai 
investigation  conducted  in  an  area  where  4,131  persons  whoU; 
dependent  on  the  mines  lived,  we  found  64  children  employee 
in  and  around  the  mines  not  14  years  of  age.     There  wer< 


OUR  EDUCATIONAL.  APPAKATUS.  175 

24  boys  employed  in  breakers  before  they  were  12  years  of 
age.  In  other  sections  of  the  coal  fields  the  evil  of  employing 
children  under  age  in  breakers  and  mines  is  worse  than  in  our 
limited  area.  But  if  the  proportion  above  mentioned  prevails 
in  these  coal  fields,  there  are  employed  in  the  breakers  about 
2,400  boys  under  12  years  of  age,  and  nearly  6,400  boys  under 
14  years  of  age  working  in  and  around  the  mines.  The  tabu- 
lated report  of  superintendents  of  public  schools  in  Lackawanna 
county  given  above,  shows  how  prevalent  the  evil  of  child  labor 
is.  Improved  machinery  for  cleaning  coal  has  displaced  many 
boys,  and  it  is  hoped  that  a  still  further  improvement  and 
utilization  of  such  machinery  will  render  unnecessary  the  labor 
of  boys  hardly  in  their  teens  in  these  breakers.  No  industry 
demands  the  service  of  boys  whose  bone  and  muscle  are  not 
hardened  and  whose  brain  has  not  been  developed  for  con- 
tinuous and  effective  thinking.  Muscle  without  intelligence  is 
annually  depreciating,  being  displaced  by  machinery  which  does 
nearly  all  the  rough  work.  To  stunt  the  body  and  dull  the 
brains  of  boys  in  breakers  is  to  rob  them  of  the  mental  equip- 
ment which  is  essential  to  enhance  their  social  worth  and  enable 
them  to  adjust  themselves  to  the  requirements  of  modern  life. 
The  laws  of  our  State  relative  to  child  labor  are  an  intricate 
mass  of  confusing  statutes,*  which  well  illustrate  the  legislative 
jobbery  of  our  representatives,  who  disregard  both  science  and 
history  in  their  eagerness  to  do  something  whereby  their  politi- 

*The  law  of  1849  provides  that  no  child  under  13  years  of  age  can  be  em- 
ployed in  any  factory  and  all  children  under  16  years  can  only  be  employed 
for  nine  months  and  must  attend  school  for  three  consecutive  months  each 
year.  The  law  of  1899  says  that  any  child  between  the  ages  of  13  and  16 
years  can  be  employed  if  he  can  read  and  write  the  English  language  intelli- 
gently. The  law  of  1849  says  that  no  child  can  be  employed  for  more  than 
10  hours  each  day  and  the  law  of  1893  gives  permission  to  employ  them  for  12 
hours  a  day.  An  act  of  1891  gives  permission  to  employ  boys  at  12  years  in 
the  breakers  and  boys  of  14  years  in  anthracite  mines  and  an  act  of  1887 
makes  it  a  misdemeanor  to  employ  a  child  under  12  years  of  age  in  mills, 
factories,  mines,  etc.  A  law  of  1885  permits  the  employment  of  boys  12 
years  of  age  in  bituminous  mines,  while  boys  of  10  years  can  be  employed 
outside  bituminous  collieries.  In  the  last  legislature  (1903)  a  law  was  passed 
raising  the  age  at  which  boys  can  be  employed  in  breakers  to  14  and  in  the 
mines  to  16  years,  but  it  is  questionable  whether  this  law  applies  to  bitumi- 
nous as  well  as  anthracite  mines. 


176  ANTHBACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

cal  prospects  may  be  enhanced.  The  law  requires  ever 
employer  to  keep  a  register  of  all  boys  employed  under  1 
years  of  age  which  may  be  seen  by  the  inspectors.  No  employe 
does  it.  Certificates  from  the  parents  or  guardians  of  th 
child,  stating  its  age,  are  required  before  the  child  is  employee 
Employers  secure  these  but  they  are  not  reliable.  The  em 
ployer  is  protected,  the  child  sacrificed,  and  a  premium  is  pu 
on  perjury. 

No  industry  in  the  State  is  so  demoralizing  and  injuriou 
to  boys  as  the  anthracite  coal  industry.  For  the  last  half 
century  these  breakers  have  been  filled  with  boys  who  shouL 
have  been  in  the  public  schools.  They  were  put  to  work  be 
fore  they  acquired  the  three  "  most  essential  parts  of  literar; 
education,  to  read,  write  and  account,"  and  failing  to  acquir 
these  to  the  degree  in  which  it  is  necessary  in  order  to  deriv 
pleasure  and  utility  from  them  in  daily  life,  they  grow  up  ii 
illiteracy,  and  by  the  time  they  are  young  men  many  of  then 
cannot  read  or  write  their  mother  tongue.  If  society  in  anthra 
cite  communities  is  to  be  safeguarded  against  injuries  whicl 
can  be  avoided  only  by  increased  intelligence,  greater  attentioi 
must  be  given  to  the  public  education  of  the  children. 

Necessity  often  accounts  for  the  presence  of  boys  in  th( 
breakers  or  mines.  Many  of  the  advocates  of  reform  lose 
sight  of  this.  There  are  many  widows  and  poor  families  ii 
these  coal  fields  that  need  the  wages  earned  by  these  children 
and  it  would  be  well  for  kind-hearted  people,  who  considei 
only  the  general  desirability  of  fuller  education  of  these  boys 
to  remember  this.  On  the  other  hand  there  are  many  parent' 
who  exploit  their  children.  Of  the  64  children  employed  sa 
above  referred  to,  35  of  the  parents  owned  their  own  homes, 
Of  the  nationalities  represented  the  Sclavs  were  in  the  lead, 
but  the  English,  Irish  and  Welsh  followed  closely,  while  12 
of  the  parents  were  native  born.  These  parents  do  not  see 
that  a  liberal  education  to  the  boys  is  a  better  investment  than 
to  build  a  house.  Solon  made  a  law  which  acquitted  childrer 
from  maintaining  their  parents  in  old  age  who  had  neglected 
to  instruct  them  in  some  profitable  trade  or  business.     Some 


OUR    EDUCATIONAL    APPARATUS.  177 

such  law  is  necessary  to-day  in  anthracite  communities  to  force 
parents,  financially  able,  to  keep  their  children  in  school  until 
they  graduate  from  the  common  branches. 

The  breaker,  where  most  boys  of  mine  employees  begin  their 
life  as  wage  earners,  is  not  favorable  to  the  intellectual  develop- 
ment of  the  lad,  however  bright  his  parts  may  be.  Over  the 
chute  where  the  coal  passes  he  stoops  and  with  nimble  fingers 
picks  out  the  impurities.  In  breakers,  where  water  is  not 
used  to  wash  the  coal,  the  air  is  laden  with  coal  dust ;  in  winter 
the  little  fingers  get  cold  and  chap,  and  at  all  times  when 
the  machinery  is  in  motion  the  noise  from  revolving  wheels, 
crushers,  screens  and  the  rushing  coal  is.  deafening.  In  such 
an  environment  there  is  nothing  to  quicken  the  talent  or 
develop  the  aesthetic  sense  of  a  boy.  All  is  depressing  and 
the  wonder  is  that  so  many  boys  who  began  life  under  such 
conditions  have  been  able  to  rise  to  prominence  in  the  various 
spheres  of  life. 

The  boy  learns  many  things  in  the  breakers  and  in  the  mines. 
The  hard  conditions  do  not  dampen  the  ardor  and  crush  the 
spirits  of  the  average  lad.  Most  of  them  are  bright,  cheerful 
and  full  of  tricks.  They  have  a  good  appetite  and  with  dirty 
hands  the  contents  of  the  dinner-pail  generally  disappears. 
They  have  their  "  spats  "  and  fighis,  and  woe  betide  the  man 
who  injures  one  of  them.  They  are  full  of  fun  and  frolic,  but 
their  curiosity  sometimes  leads  them  to  injury  and  death. 
Many  of  them  fall  into  the  machinery  and  are  mangled,  or 
down  the  chutes  and  are  smothered.  Of  all  deaths  in  this 
risky  business  the  death  of  one  of  these  boys  is  the  saddest. 
To  witness  a  funeral  procession  of  a  boy  hardly  in  his  teens 
and  the  cortege  made  up  of  his  companions  in  the  breaker,  is  a 
sight  sad  enough  to  melt  a  heart  of  stone,  and  every  humane 
soul  asks  :  "  Is  this  sacrifice  of  youth  necessary  for  the  pros- 
perity of  the  mining  industry  ?  " 

There  are  three  things  which  boys  learn  in  the  breakers ; 

they  are  chewing  and  smoking  tobacco  and  swearing.     Some 

indeed  have  learned  these  before  they  begin  to  work   in  the 

breaker.     Old  Abijah  Smith  said,  in  his  reminiscences  of  the 

13 


178  ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 


early  days  of  anthracite  mining,  that  no  youth  would  think  ( 
using  tobacco  before  he  was  18  years  of  age.  Times  ha\ 
changed  in  the  Wyoming  Valley  and  many  lads  now  contra< 
the  habit  before  they  are  in  their  teens,  while  boys  playing  o 
the  streets  use  profane  language  which  horrifies  the  morall 
sensitive.  Sclav  boys  when  irritated  swear  shamelessly  an 
afford  considerable  mirth  to  their  seniors.  Many  boys  traine 
in  a  religious  home  resist  the  temptations  to  obscenity  an 
vicious  practices  so  common  in  and  around  the  mines,  but 
requires  unusually  strong  moral  qualities  to  develop  mor: 
character  under  conditions  so  unfavorable. 

One  of  the  greatest  enemies  of  these  boys  is  the  cigarett 
In  a  mining  town  where  this  curse  of  boyhood  was  sold  in  thn 
stores,  the  consumption  was  1,200  boxes  or  12,000  cigarettes 
month.  Miners  who  smoke  use  the  pipe  or  a  cigar,  so  thj 
these  cigarettes  were  sold  to  boys  from  8  to  16  years.*  Thei 
were  480  youths  of  that  age  in  the  borough,  so  that  the  coi 
sumption  per  capita  was  25  cigarettes,  providing  all  of  thei 
smoked.  If  half  the  youths  —  many  novices  and  some  ve 
erans  —  only  indulged  the  per  capita  consumption  per  mont 
was  double.  This  evil  prevails  extensively  in  mining  town 
One  of  our  public  school  principals  was  so  convinced  of  tl 
prevalence  of  the  habit  among  his  scholars,  that  he  went  to  tl 
stores  selling  cigarettes  and  asked  the  traders  not  to  cut  tl 
boxes,  for  many  tots  came  to  buy  two  cigarettes  for  a  penn; 
The  practice  of  cutting  the  boxes  still  goes  on.  Careful  ol 
servation  of  the  physical,  mental  and  moral  injury  wrougl 
by  this  habit  upon  boyhood  ought  to  move  every  community  1 
wage  a  war  of  extermination  upon  this  foe  which  destroys  i 
many  boys.  Anti-tobacco  leagues  are  sadly  needed  here.  Bi 
what  hope  is  there  of  reforming  the  boys  when  the  fathers  a] 
so  addicted  to  the  habit?  A  superintendent  says  :  '^Only  oi 
of  our  teachers  uses  tobacco  ;  nearly  all  of  the  men  in  our  tow 
do  use  it,  ministers,  lawyers,  doctors.  Sabbath  school  superii 

*The  last  legislature  has  made  it  a  crime  to  sell  cigarettes  or  cigarett 
paper  to  youths  under  21  years  of  age.  But  of  what  good  are  laws  unless  th( 
are  executed?  The  age  limit  was  16  years  and  tots  of  8  years  purchas< 
cigarettes  freely. 


OUR    EDUCATIONAL    APPARATUS.  179 

tendents,  etc.  Many  of  these  men  stand  high  in  the  com- 
munity. .  .  .  What  chance  has  a  poor  female  teacher  that  is  not 
considered  worth  more  than  $28  per  month  with  her  children, 
who  can  go  out  and  earn  more  picking  slate  than  she  ?  "  * 

There  are  many  other  practices  among  these  boys  which  sap 
their  physical  and  moral  powers.  In  Lackawanna  county  a 
practice  known  as  the  "  knock  down  "  prevails  among  the  boys. 
They  take  regularly  from  their  pay  a  certain  amount  before 
they  give  their  wages  to  their  parents.  Some  of  the  coal  com- 
panies afford  the  boys  an  opportunity  for  this  practice,  by  not 
issuing  a  statement  of  the  wages  earned  by  them.  Few  parents 
know  the  rate  of  wages  paid  the  boys  and  the  time  worked  by 
them.  They  can  only  find  this  out  by  asking  the  boss  —  a  thing 
the  average  parent  will  not  do.  Fathers  working  in  the  same  col- 
liery as  their  children  are  so  indifferent  to  the  children's  earnings, 
that  they  know  not  when  the  "  knock-down  "  is  practiced  by  the 
boys.  The  boys  are  exceedingly  skillful  at  the  business. 
Many  of  them  live  in  the  same  neighborhood  and  know  that 
their  mothers  compare  notes  at  pay-day.  In  order  to  guard 
against  detection  which  may  arise  from  a  discrepancy  in  the 
pays  of  boys  rated  alike,  they  meet  and  agree  to  take  out  the 
same  amount.  Boys  take  in  this  way  from  50  cents  to  $1  out 
of  their  two  weeks'  pay.  In  a  local  strike  in  1900,  some 
fathers  complained  that  the  boys  did  not  get  the  regular  rate  of 
wages.  When  shown  that  they  were  paid  the  standard  wage 
the  parents  were  mortified  to  learn  that  they  were  victims  of 
the  "  knock-down  "  habit.  The  revelation  occasioned  consid- 
erable comment  and  when  a  company  of  men  discussed  the 
question,  one  of  them  said  :  "  It's  an  old  trick  :  we  used  to  do 
it  ourselves."  No  one  contradicted  him,  and  some  fathers 
practice  it  still  —  they  hide  a  bill  in  the  "  bacca-box  "  before 
they  hand  the  pay  over  to  the  wife. 

Many  of  the  boys  patronize  the  slot  machine,  while  some  of 

*  Near  a  barn  in  one  of  the  alleys  in  Mahanoy  City,  two  girls,  neither  of 
whom  was  12  years  of  age,  were  seen  stealthily  smoking  cigarettes.  While 
laws  are  passed  in  Harrisburg  against  the  sale  of  cigarettes  to  minors,  the 
evil  grows  and  shall  our  young  girls  fall  victims  to  that  which  ruins  so  many 
of  our  bovs  ? 


180  ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

them  follow  with  great  zeal  cock-fighting  and  stake  5  or  10  o 
25  cents  on  the  main.  Most  of  the  small  boys,  howevei 
spend  their  money  in  luxuries,  and  to  watch  these  boys  on  pay 
night  in  the  candy  shop  is  one  of  the  most  amusing  sights  inc 
aginable.  They  compare  their  cash  ;  they  count  their  change 
they  boast  how  much  ice  cream,  candy,  peanuts  and  soda  the 
consume.  The  small  boy  lays  away  his  cigarette  very  stealthib 
while  the  veteran  puffs  boldly  into  the  air.  The  lad  of  1 
years  is  about  to  pass  from  the  candy  store,  but  still  lingerie 
where  the  younger  boys  are,  he  feels  the  dawn  of  independenc 
and  smokes  a  cigar  to  the  envy  of  the  smaller  lads.  All  tl 
rivalry,  the  cunning,  the  shrewdness,  the  vanity  and  the  folli< 
of  life  are  seen  here  as  in  a  microcosm.  It  is  the  drama  of  li 
in  its  pleasures,  anxieties  and  pains. 

Boys  from  12  to  14  years  spend  from  f  1  to  $2  a  mont 
Those  limited  to  50  cents  or  a  $1  "  blow  it  in  "  on  pay-nigh 
Those  having  $1.50  to  $2  are  "  flush  "  the  night  after  pay,  bi 
the  evening  following  they  are  all  on  a  par  —  every  pocket 
empty.  The  only  time  the  economic  vision  of  these  boys 
exercised  is  when  the  circus  comes  to  town.  Then  close  figu 
ing  is  done.  They  come  to  the  last  30  or  25  cents.  Thatth< 
stow  away  for  the  expected  night,  sacrificing  the  pleasures 
the  moment  for  the  promise  of  a  good  show.  Stores  which  gi 
the  boys  "  tick  '^  soon  get  out  of  business.  A  boy  that  owes  ! 
cents  steers  clear  of  that  bill.  The  small  boy's  trade  can  or 
be  held  on  a  strictly  cash  basis. 

When  the  lad  reaches  16  or  17  years  he  leaves  the  can 
shop.  He  feels  himself  above  the  small  boys  that  congregj 
there  and  he  hankers  for  something  other  than  the  "  soft  stui 
sold  in  them.  It  is  the  turning  point  in  the  young  ma? 
career.  From  his  early  boyhood  every  pay-night  meant  a  d 
sipation  after  the  manner  of  boys.'  He  still  craves  for  that  ( 
citement  and  dissipation  and,  forsaking  the  candy  store,  he  fii 
only  one  place  of  welcome  —  the  saloon.  Candy  is  no  lon^ 
the  basis  of  his  dissipation.  It  is  beer  and  tobacco.  When  t 
hour  comes  many  are  the  boys  in  mining  towns  who  frequ< 
saloons,  for  there  is  no  other  place  provided  to  meet  their 


OUR  EDUCATIONAL  APPARATUS.  181 

quirements.  Right  here  philanthropic  efforts  should  be  put 
forth  in  anthracite  towns  and  villages.  Money  taken  out  of 
these  rich  coal  deposits  cannot  find  anywhere  in  the  land  a  better 
opportunity  for  good.  The  founding  and  endowing  of  educa- 
tional and  social  institutions  on  a  grand  scale  is  become  the 
fashion  of  rich  men  of  to-day,  but  it  has  not  begun  in  these 
coal  fields.  For  the  last  half  century  the  sons  of  anthracite 
mine  workers  have  been  left  to  the  saloon,  the  dancing  hall  and 
the  theatre,  and  lawlessness,  irreverence  and  crime  have  steadily 
increased.  Is  it  not  time  for  the  leaders  in  our  society  to  turn 
their  attention  to  the  degeneracy  which  has  gone  on  apace,  and 
plant  institutions  for  the  benefit  of  these  youths  whereby  they 
may  be  helped  to  better  manhood  and  find  that  there  are  higher 
pleasures  in  the  world  than  those  of  sense  ? 

Human  nature  in  the  boys  of  the  anthracite  coal  fields  is  the 
same  as  that  of  any  other  crowd  of  boys.  A  group  of  them  is 
equal  in  original  talent  to  any  group  of  children,  but  they  are 
planted  in  hard,  coarse  soil,  and  their  physical,  intellectual  and 
moral  parts  are  stunted.  What  we  need  is  to  give  these  boys 
a  better  environment.  Raise  the  age  at  which  they  can  begin 
work  to  14  years  *  as  it  is  in  most  other  States  ;  arouse  public 
sentiment  to  the  rights  of  children  to  a  liberal  education  and 
to  the  wrongs  of  greedy  parents  who  perjure  themselves  and 
exploit  their  children  ;  establish  a  system  of  public  aid  whereby 
widows  will  not  be  forced  to  send  their  tender  boys  to  the  mines 
or  breakers ;  then  possibly  boys  of  tender  years  can  be  kept 
out  of  breakers.  Ignorance  will  necessarily  lead  to  confusion 
and  industrial  crises,  which  bring  disaster  to  all  interests  but 
which  inflict  greatest  injury  on  the  working  classes. 

*  This  chapter  was  written  in  1902,  previous  to  the  passage  of  the  law 
raising  the  age  at  which  boys  can  begin  work  in  the  breaker  to  14  years.  An 
inquiry  into  the  effect  of  this  law,  made  last  October,  leads  us  to  believe  that 
it  is  not  enforced.  When  it  was  signed  by  the  Governor,  an  effort  was  made 
in  some  localities  to  enforce  it,  but  boys  who  were  sent  home  this  month  re- 
turned the  next  with  the  new  certificate  from  perjured  parents.  In  some 
towns  more  boys  of  from  11  to  13  years  are  in  school  this  year  than  last,  but 
from  most  of  our  towns  and  boroughs  the  report  comes  :  '*  No  apparent  effisct 
that  we  can  see."  With  a  worthless  system  of  gathering  birth  statistics,  with 
parents  who  regard  their  children  as  productive  agents,  and  with  politicians 
in  control  of  all  civic  offices,  what  hope  is  there  of  keeping  tender  boys  oi  12 
and  13  years  from  the  breakers? 


182  anthracite  coal  communities. 

Can  our  Educational  System  be  Improved? 

In  speaking  of  the  educational  needs  of  Alabama,  Professo 
Roof,  of  Birmingham,  said  the  greatest  need  grew  out  of  th 
lack  of  funds.  In  Pennsylvania  we  have  seen  that  there  is  n- 
lack  of  appropriations  for  school  purposes.  There  is  reason  t 
believe  that  they  are  so  liberal  as  to  lead  to  corruption  o 
directors  and  negligence  on  the  part  of  teachers.  If  the  publi 
teachers  were  more  directly  dependent  for  their  salary  upon  th 
parents  of  the  children,  the  home  would  take  greater  interes 
in  the  child's  education  and  a  wholesome  influence  would  sooi 
be  exerted  on  both  directors  and  teachers.  Parental  responsi 
bility  needs  quickening,  and  a  larger  number  of  strong  an( 
well  qualified  teachers  should  be  engaged,  who  make  teaching 
their  life  work,  and  whose  superior  virtue  and  natural  ability 
would  procure  from  the  young  people  in  their  care,  reverenc* 
and  respect  for  authority. 

The  State  has  virtually  taken  all  the  responsibility  for  th< 
education  of  the  child  from  the  parents.  A  free  text-book  lav 
was  passed  in  1885,  but  was  not  effective  till  1893,  when  au- 
thority was  given  directors  to  buy  "  books  in  all  the  requirec 
branches  of  study,''  so  that  parents  have  no  concern  even  foi 
books  and  slates  and  pencils,  and  the  child  is  taught  fron 
earliest  youth  to  look  upon  the  State  as  its  guardian  and  the 
source  which  gratuitously  furnishes  all  it  needs.  We  have  i 
system  of  compulsory  education  and  an  attendance  officer  whc 
marshals  the  children  to  school,  so  that  parental  authorit} 
slumbers  and  children  feel  that  State  interference  is  necessary 
in  the  discharge  of  ordinary  duties.  The  laws  of  1899  anc 
1901  say  that  all  children  from  8  to  16  years  must  attend  the 
public  school.  Those  over  13  years  who  can  read  and  write 
the  English  language  can  go  to  work.  But  here  in  the  anthra- 
cite fields  are  thousands  of  boys  and  girls  working  whc 
are  not  13  years  of  age  and  who  cannot  read  and  write  the 
English  language  intelligently.  What  must  be  the  reverence 
of  these  boys  and  girls  for  State  authority  when  the  lawe 
calculated  to  give  them  a  good  start  in  life,  are  openly  violated 


OUR  EDUCATIONAL  APPARATUS.  183 

and  ignored  with  impunity  by  operators,  parents  and  factory 
inspectors  ? 

The  effect  of  compulsory  attendance  and  free  text-books  upon 
the  schools  is  not  apparent.  The  economic  condition  of  the 
people  has  a  greater  effect  than  any  other  force  upon  school 
attendance.  During  the  years  of  industrial  depression  from 
1893  to  1898  the  school  attendance  in  Pennsylvania  increased 
on  an  average  of  3.49  percent.,  which  was  equal  to  the  average 
annual  increase  of  the  population.  But  from  1898  to  1902,  the 
years  of  revived  industrial  activity,  the  school  attendance  fell  off 
an  average  of  .73  per  annum,  notwithstanding  a  more  rapid  in- 
crease of  population  due  to  better  times.  The  superintendents 
of  Wilkesbarre,  Nanticoke  and  Hazleton  confirm  this  conclu- 
sion. Each  of  them  testifies  that  the  compulsory  education 
law  is  not  effective  when  industrial  activity  offers  the  boys  and 
girls  work  in  the  breakers  and  in  the  mills.  The  law  is  not 
effective  in  the  majority  of  our  townships  and  boroughs  to  force 
truant  children  to  school,  while  its  moral  effect  upon  society  is 
to  relieve  the  individual  of  his  obligation.  In  our  territory 
few  attempts  have  been  made  to  prosecute  parents  for  the  non- 
attendance  of  their  children.  In  Lackawanna  county.  County 
Superintendent  Taylor  states  that  the  enrollment  for  1902  was 
from  5  to  10  per  cent,  less  than  that  of  1901.  His  explana- 
tion is  "  the  failure  of  school  directors  to  enforce  the  attendance 
law."  The  children  of  poor  and  thriftless  parents  are  the 
truants  and  any  attempt  to  impose  a  fine  on  them  is  defeated  by 
their  poverty. 

What  to  do  with  the  children  of  illiterate  and  greedy  parents 
is  a  problem  which  perplexes  and  confounds  our  educators. 
Listen  to  some  of  their  complaints  :  "  The  great  hindrance  to- 
the  prosperity  of  our  schools  was  due  to  the  irregular  attend- 
ance of  pupils  who,  through  the  indifference  of  their  parents, 
were  out  of  school  nearly  half  of  the  term."  "  Irregular  at- 
tendance is  the  greatest  hindrance  to  our  progress."  "  Many 
of  our  foreign  born  parents  care  very  little  what  becomes  of  their 
children,  provided  they  are  not  bothered  with  them  any  more 
than  they  can  help."     "  Because  of  indecent  homes,  little  people 


184  ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

come  to  us  with  a  vicious  knowledge  beyond  their  years. 
Among  these  are  many  of  the  Sclavs  and  the  lower  stratum  ( 
the  English-speaking  peoples.  Then  in  many  of  our  townt 
the  Sclav  children  attend  parochial  schools  which  do  not  gi\ 
them  the  training  they  ought  to  receive.  In  one  of  our  towc 
these  children,  when  at  the  age  of  12  they  enter  the  publi 
school,  are  found  to  be  three  years'  work  behind  children  c 
the  same  age  who  have  been  trained  in  the  schools  of  the  Stat( 
When  from  25  to  30  per  cent,  of  the  children  of  some  minin 
towns  attends  schools  of  this  character,  the  public  school,  whic 
is  the  chief  factor  in  the  process  of  assimilation  of  foreig 
material,  is  seriously  handicapped  in  its  work. 

We  have  also  seen  that  the  school  life  of  the  children  of  min 
employees  does  not  extend  over  4  or  5  years.  Means  shouL 
be  devised  to  extend  this.  One  way  is  to  establish  kindei 
garten  schools  where  the  children  of  from  three  to  six  years  ca 
be  prepared  for  entrance  upon  the  public  school.  School  board 
have  the  power  to  establish  these,  but  it  requires  an  enlight 
ened  public  sentiment  before  they  can  see  the  benefit  of  sue 
institutions  to  the  children  of  the  working  classes.  One  of  th 
superintendents  remarks  in  his  report  of  1902:  "Again  w 
need  to  learn  the  lesson  from  the  parents  bringing  their  littl 
ones  at  4  years  of  age  and  trying  to  get  them  into  school  b; 
deception." 

Something  also  should  be  done  for  the  boys  and  girls  wh 
now  leave  school  before  they  are  11  or  12  years  of  age.  Ther 
•are  in  our  territory  over  130,000  children  of  school  age,  98  pe 
•cent,  of  whom  never  enter  the  high  school,  and  only  15  pe 
cent,  enter  the  grammar  grades.  Why  is  it  the  children  do  no 
avail  themselves  of  the  opportunities  for  a  liberal  education  s< 
freely  offered  them  ?  It  is  not  poverty.  That  is  the  cause  ii 
a  small  percentage.  The  real  cause  lies  in  the  conviction  o 
parents  that  our  higher  education  is  useless  to  the  average  bo^ 
:and  girl.  A  child  of  12  or  13  years  ought  to  have  commam 
of  the  rudiments  of  a  common  education.  At  this  age  most  o 
our  boys  grow  tired  of  theoretic  knowledge.  A  smaller  per 
rentage  of  boys  than  even  enters  the  high  school  is  destined  b} 


OUR  EDUCATIONAL  APPARATUS.  185 

nature  to  become  eminent  scholars.  Their  eyes  and  hands  were 
destined  for  something  more  than  reading  and  writing.  They 
hanker  for  something  to  do,  and  if  opportunity  were  offered, 
many  of  them  would  be  as  expert  in  the  use  of  hammer,  saw, 
compass  and  chisel,  as  they  are  now  in  the  handling  of  cigars, 
cards,  pipes,  tumblers  and  balls.  These  practical  people  see 
little  use  to  keep  the  boy  in  school  till  16  or  17  years  of  age 
and  then  send  him  to  the  mines.  Our  grammar  and  high 
school  curricula  are  well  calculated  to  turn  out  accountants  and 
teachers,  and  there  are  30  applicants  for  every  such  position. 
Girls  start  in  stores  for  $1.50  a  week  and  are  considered  for- 
tunate if  they  advance  after  years  of  service  to  $5  and  $6  a 
week.  In  factories  they  only  average  $3  a  week,  and  at  this 
low  rate  there  is  no  room  for  all  the  applicants.  Is  it  a  wonder 
that  parents  say  :  "  What's  the  use  of  sending  them  to  school 
to  graduate?"  Some  of  the  most  hopeless  cases  in  mining 
towns  are  young  men  who  have  graduated  from  the  high  school 
and  who  have  nothing  to  do.  They  know  too  much  "  to  work  " 
they  say  and  they  become  idlers  and  some  of  them  criminals. 
Some  will  say  why  do  not  the  boys  and  girls  get  out  ?  That 
is  what  many  of  them  do,  but  think  of  the  danger  a  young 
lad  or  girl  of  17  or  18  years  incurs  in  going  to  the  city  with- 
out knowing  anything  definitely.  They  may  be  graduates  of 
the  high  school,  but  there  are  hundreds  of  these  in  the  city 
before  they  enter,  and  desirable  positions  are  not  for  the  new 
comers.  Scores  of  boys  and  girls  get  out  annually  and  get 
back  also  discouraged  and  embittered.  The  boys  rail  against 
social  conditions  under  which  they  are  doomed  to  toil  in  the 
mines  where  a  few  generations  ago  society  compelled  its  serfs 
and  criminals  to  work.  Would  it  not  be  better  for  the  boys 
and  girls  as  well  as  for  society,  if  they  were  taught  some  man- 
ual labor  or  service  whereby  they  could  earn  a  competency 
when  they  leave  home  ?  Right  here  in  the  coal  fields  there  is 
annually  a  great  waste  of  talent.  A  better  system  of  educa- 
tion would  economize  it.  If  Erasmus  were  made  a  musician 
and  Mozart  a  physician,  society  would  have  lost  much,  and  yet 
that  is  what  we  do  by  not  affording  the  children  of  these  mine 


186  ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

workers  the  opportunity  of  acquiring  a  trade  for  which  the 
are  best  adapted.  When  custom  or  circumstances  arbitrari] 
chalk  out  the  field  of  labor  for  these  boys  and  girls  regardles 
of  their  inherent  intellectual  energies,  the  peace  and  progre^ 
of  society  are  menaced.  Opportunities  and  facilities  ought  i 
be  offered  them  for  exercising  their  faculties  in  order  to  lea 
them  to  the  greatest  possible  social  worth  and  add  to  the  sui 
total  of  human  happiness.  Establish  trade  schools  for  the  bo} 
and  schools  of  domestic  arts  for  the  girls,  and  from  the  coj 
fields  there  will  emanate  a  body  of  young  men  and  wome 
whose  useful  lives  will  be  a  source  of  joy  to  any  city,  and  tb 
homes  of  our  people  will  be  filled  with  greater  peace  and  haj 
piness.  Well  has  Mr.  Henderson  asked  :  "  If  the  state  teacht 
physicians,  lawyers,  dentists  and  pharmacists,  why  not  smithi 
weavers,  decorators  and  machinists  ? ''  Ignorance  and  discor 
tent  lead  to  confusion ;  knowledge  and  social  utility  bring  orde 
and  stability. 

The  moral  instruction  of  our  youths  should  also  be  attende 
to.  General  Gobin  in  his  testimony  before  the  Anthracite  Co£ 
Strike  Commission  stated  that  the  greatest  wrong  of  the  strik 
of  1902  was  the  lawlessness  taught  the  youths  of  these  regions 
That  was  a  great  evil,  but  the  tendency  of  our  youths  to  law 
lessness  is  not  an  accident ;  it  is  the  result  of  gross  neglect  t 
teach  them  the  principles  of  righteousness.  The  evil  effect  c 
substituting  the  State  for  the  parent  in  the  business  of  educa 
tion  is  more  apparent  in  the  moral  than  in  any  other  sphen 
The  parents  have  abdicated  their  position  as  teachers  of  every 
thing.  Teaching  as  a  parental  function  has  practically  disap 
peared.  It  was  the  custom  for  the  family  to  teach  the  childrej 
the  lessons  of  right  and  wrong,  but  it  is  so  no  more.  This  i 
not  done  by  the  public  school,  and  the  church  cannot  effective! 
do  it  by  a  few  hours'  teaching  once  a  week,  while  there  ar 
many  who  never  come  within  its  influence.  Is  it  astonishin| 
that  under  such  circumstances  youths  grow  up  without  an  in 
telligent  sense  of  right  and  wrong  ?  The  results  are  ingratitud 
to  parents,  disregard  to  the  rights  of  men  and  of  property,  in 
subordination  to  superiors,  lack  of  respect  for  women,  indul 


OUR   EDUCATIONAL.   APPARATUS.  187 

gence  in  sensuous  enjoyments,  lack  of  truthfulness  and  honor, 
a  contempt  for  civil  authority  that  presages  anarchy  and  loss  of 
faith  in  all  save  material  realities.  Society  must  suffer  because 
of  this,  and  it  can  only  be  remedied  by  establishing  an  efficient 
machinery  for  the  instruction  of  the  young  in  righteousness. 

The  reports  of  public  school  superintendents  in  our  territory 
for  the  year  1901,  covering  1,172  schools  in  the  anthracite  coal 
fields,  showed  that  in  only  614  or  52  per  cent,  was  the  Bible 
read,  while  other  reports  covering  4,969  schools  in  other  parts 
of  the  State  showed  that  the  Bible  was  read  in  4,205  or  84 
per  cent,  of  them.  As  far  as  our  public  schools  are  concerned 
no  systematic  instruction  is  given  in  right  and  wrong,  and  the 
mass  of  our  youths  is  suffering  moral  atrophy.  Their  moral 
faculties  are  undeveloped  and  our  system  of  instruction  assumes 
that  moral  conduct  will  take  care  of  itself  if  only  the  common 
branches  are  taught.  Need  we  wonder  that  harmless  people 
are  assaulted,  women  insulted,  peaceful  citizens  maligned  on 
the  street,  and  our  politics  are  corrupt  ? 

We  need  a  better  machinery  to  train  the  conscience.  Right 
and  wrong  in  the  affairs  of  conduct  should  be  matters  of  in- 
struction as  well  as  reading  and  arithmetic.  Righteousness  is 
essential  to  a  people's  existence  and  it  is  contrary  to  reason  and 
practice  to  imagine  that  the  youth  will,  without  instruction,  be 
able  to  determine  between  right  and  wrong.  Practical  ethics 
should  be  taught  the  youth  as  any  other  branch  of  knowledge. 
Every  intelligent  man  feels  that  the  need  is  great,  and  bigotry 
or  sentiment  ought  to  give  way  to  the  exegencies  of  the  situa- 
tion. Hitherto  any  attempt  at  moral  teaching  in  public  schools 
has  threatened  serious  division  in  the  communities.  The  chil- 
dren and  society  are  the  sufferers,  and  it  would  seem  reasonable 
that  the  enlightened  citizens  of  each  community  ought  to  adopt 
some  system  of  moral  instruction  acceptable  to  the  general  har- 
monies of  individual  consciences  and  religious  beliefs.  This 
also  should  be  supplemented  by  the  strenuous  efforts  of  all  per- 
sons who  see  the  need  and  believe  that  means  ought  to  be  de- 
vised properly  to  instruct  the  sense  of  right  and  wrong  in  the 
youth  of  the  land. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
THE  INTELLECTUAL   AND   RELIGIOUS   LIFE. 

1.  What  do  Ouk  People  Read?  2.  Club  Life  in  Mining  Tow 
3.  The  Work  of  Temperance  Reform.  4.  Our  Churches  a 
THE  Clergy. 


What  do  Our  People  Read? 
r'  In  the  year  1899  there  were  87  papers  of  all  kinds  publish 
in  the  anthracite  coal  fields,  while  in  1902  there  were  12 
which  is  an  increase  of  nearly  50  per  cent.,  while  the  incres 
in  population  during  that  period  was  only  25  per  cent, 
this  time  the  number  of  dailies  increased  from  18  to  26,  a 
the  number  of  weeklies  from  65  to  99,  which  is  an  increase 
44.4  and  52.5  per  cent,  respectively.  The  semi-weekly  and  t 
monthly  issues  remained  the  same.  The  circulation  as  giv 
by  the  dailies  in  1889  was  48,476  and  in  1902,  133,9£ 
Thus  twelve  years  ago  one  daily  paper  was  issued  to  every  t 
persons  in  our  territory,  while  last  year  one  was  issued  i 
every  five  persons  in  the  same  area.  In  addition  to  this,  the 
were  97,658  copies  of  the  weeklies  issued  in  1889,  which  w 
one  copy  for  every  five  persons  ;  and  in  1902,  153,743  copi 
were  distributed,  which  was  one  copy  to  every  4.5  persor 
Thus,  as  far  as  reliance  can  be  placed  upon  the  figures  given 
to  circulation,  the  dailies  have  increased  in  number  about  i 
per  cent,  and  in  circulation  about  100  per  cent.,  while  t 
weeklies  have  increased  in  number  and  circulation  about  equal! 
The  following  classification  is  made  of  the  political  afl&liati( 
of  the  papers  which  expressed  a  preference  : 

1889.  1902. 

Republican 24  38 

Democrat 10  17 

Independent 30  33 

Independent  Democrat 4  4 

Independent  Republican 0  1 

Silver  Democrat 0  1 

188 


THE    INTELLECTUAL    AND     RELIGIOUS    LIFE.  189 

About  seven  of  the  dailies  issue  a  Sunday  edition.  If  we 
consider  the  purpose  for  which  the  papers  exist  we  have  the 
following  classification  : 

1889.  1902. 

Prohibition 1  0 

Technical 3  3 

Law 1  1 

Literature 1  2 

Labor 1  3 

Religious 1  4 

Railroad 0  1 

General  news 79  116 

In  1889,  only  one  of  these  papers  was  published  in  the  in^ 
terests  of  the  Sclavs,  a  sheet  edited  by  some  of  the  priests  of 
the  Ruthenians.  To-day  we  have  three  printed  in  Polish, 
three  in  Lithuanian,  three  in  Slovak,  two  in  Ruthenian  and 
five  in  German,  making  all  told  sixteen  weeklies  published  in 
foreign  languages  in  our  territory.  In  addition  to  this,  news- 
papers, magazines,  etc.,  from  other  cities  are  sold  in  our  towns. 
To  have  some  idea  of  the  number  and  character  of  these  papers 
which  circulate  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields,  we  will  take  two 
typical  mining  towns,  one  in  the  Northern  and  one  in  the  South- 
ern coal  fields. 

In  the  town  of  Mahanoy  City,  with  a  population  of  13,500, 
there  are  two  dailies  and  one  weekly  published.  Besides 
these  760  copies  of  the  Philadelphia  and  New  York  dailies 
are  sold,  and  about  1,200  copies  of  Sunday  editions  distributed 
each  Lord's  Day.  Of  the  dailies  the  following  is  their  order 
in  numerical  importance.  North  American,  Philadelphia  In- 
quirer, Philadelphia  Record,  while  about  20  copies  of  the 
Philadelphia  Ledger,  and  the  same  number  of  the  New  York 
Times  are  sold.  On  Sunday  the  following  is  the  classification 
according  to  the  numbers  distributed :  Philadelphia  Inquirer, 
North  American,  Philadelphia  Record,  and  Sunday  Journal. 
Thus  in  this  town  the  Philadelphia  and  New  York  dailies  cir- 
culate at  the  rate  of  one  copy  to  18  persons,  while  the  Sunday 
distribution  is  one  to  11.2  persons.  Besides  this  about  50 
copies  of  monthly  magazines  are  sold.  They  are  Munsey^s, 
McClure^s,  Everybody's,  Leslies  and  the  Strand, 


190  ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

In  Olyphant  and  the  second  ward  of  Blakely,  both  of  whi( 
virtually  form  one  town  having  7,700  inhabitants,  we  ha^ 
the  following  distribution  of  newspapers.  No  daily  is  publisht 
here  but  two  weeklies  manage  to  subsist.  Scranton  with  i 
four  dailies  is  only  six  miles  away,  and  of  these  300  copies  a: 
daily  distributed.  Then  about  280  copies  of  the  Philadelph 
and  New  York  dailies  are  sold.  Of  the  latter  class,  the  Nori 
American  leads,  then  come  the  Philadelphia  Recordj  the  Ne 
York  Journal  and  the  New  York  World.  On  Sunday  aboi 
650  papers  are  sold.  The  largest  circulation  would  be  that  < 
the  Elmira  Tdegram,  the  Scrantonian  and  the  Scranton  Repul 
lican.  Then  come  the  following  in  numerical  importance 
the  New  York  World,  New  York  Journal,  New  York  Herak 
Philadelphia  Press,  Philadelphia  Inquirer,  North  America 
and  Philadelphia  Record.  The  Pennsylvania  Grit  is  also  take 
by  a  few.  Thus  of  the  dailies  of  all  kind,  one  copy  is  sold  fo 
every  13  persons,  and  of  the  weeklies  one  copy  to  every  1 
persons  in  this  area.  Of  magazines  few  are  sold  in  this  com 
munity. 

The  Sunday  editions  are  brought  into  these  communities  b; 
special  trains  running  every  Sunday  morning  from  New  Yorl 
and  Philadelphia,  solely  to  accommodate  the  patronage  for  Sun 
day  papers.  In  each  depot  a  package  is  left,  and  distributor 
scatter  them  throughout  the  mining  towns  and  patches,  the  re 
motest  of  them  being  supplied  with  the  marvelous  compilatioi 
of  news,  gossip,  slander,  etc.,  which  is  highly  indicative  of  th< 
ingenuity  and  energy  of  the  publishers  and  distributors,  an( 
which  interest  and,  to  some  degree,  edify  the  purchasers. 

If  we  compare  these  two  mining  towns,  the  daily  circulatioi 
of  both  local  and  city  papers  in  Mahanoy  City  is  about  om 
copy  to  every  10  persons,  while  in  the  Olyphant  district  it  h 
one  to  every  13  persons.  Sunday  editions  supply  one  copy  U 
every  11  persons  in  the  former  and  one  to  every  ten  in  the  lat- 
ter territory.  Based  upon  this  careful  computation  of  the  pur- 
chase of  Sunday  issues  in  typical  mining  towns,  over  40,00C 
copies  of  Sunday  newspapers  would  be  regularly  purchased  b} 
mine  workers,  which   is  a  weekly  expenditure  of  $2,000  oi 


THE    INTELLECTUAL    AND    RELIGIOUS     LIFE.  191 

$104,000  per  annum.  To  calculate  the  expenditure  in  dailies  is 
more  difficult.  After  careful  computation  of  the  money  spent 
in  the  above  towns,  our  estimate  is  one  tenth  cent  daily  per 
capita  of  population,  or  about  $130,000  per  annum.  Thus 
above  $234,000  are  spent  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  annually 
in  daily  and  weekly  newspapers.  This  calculation  includes 
the  Sclav  as  well  as  the  English-speaking  workers.  If  the 
Sclavs  are  left  out  of  the  count,  the  above  sum  is  spent  by  the 
300,000  English-speaking  people  directly  dependent  on  the 
mining  industry.  ^ 

Little  else  is  spent  by  our  people  in  literature.  After  long 
acquaintance  with  their  homes  and  personal  visitation  to  hun- 
dreds of  them,  we  are  convinced  that  practically  all  the  read- 
ing done  is  of  the  above-mentioned  newspapers.  The  change 
in  population  in  the  last  twenty  years  has  influenced  the  circu- 
lation of  the  weeklies  and  dailies.  In  Shenandoah,  only  half 
the  number  of  Sunday  papers  are  sold  now  as  compared  with 
the  sales  of  eight  years  ago.*  But,  notwithstanding  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Sclav,  the  circulation  of  the  above-mentioned 
journals  has  greatly  increased  in  the  last  decade.  Political 
friction  and  rivalry  has  something  to  do  with  this  increase  in 
circulation,  but  a  greater  factor  is  the  enterprise  of  the  man- 
agement and  the  aggressiveness  of  the  local  agents  and  scribes, 
who  eke  out  a  subsistence  in  journalism. 

The  character  of  these  newspapers  is  varied.  All  the  dailies 
printed  in  our  territory  give  from  one  third  to  one  half  of  their 
news-column  space  to  gossip,  while  the  weeklies  give  over  one 
half  to  this.  Attention  is  given  to  the  movements  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  the  prurient  desire  of  each  patron  who  is  anxious  to 
see  his  name  in  the  paper  is  gratified  while  the  tattlers  find  in- 
teresting material  for  the  discussion  of  their  neighbors'  affairs. 
Some  of  our  local  journals  flourish  by  ferreting  out  the  cur- 
rent slanders,  while  the  sanctity  of  the  home  and  the  good 
name  of  highly-honored  citizens  are  ruthlessly  assailed.     One 

*In  Shenandoah,  where  1,200  Sunday  papers  are  sold  each  Sabbath,  the 
Sclavs,  who  form  60  per  cent,  of  the  population,  buy  only  25  copies.  A 
larger  number  patronizes  the  daily  paper  of  the  town,  but,  generally  speaking, 
they  do  not  buy  newspapers  published  in  the  English  language. 


192  ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

of  the  most  respectable  dailies  of  northeastern  Pennsylvani 
commented  as  follows  in  the  year  1901  upon  one  of  these  pests 
"  It  represents  about  all  that  is  vicious  in  journalism  and  it  i 
a  severe  reflection  upon  the  common  sense  and  common  de 
cency  of  this  community  that  a  publication  conducted  as  it  ha 
been  conducted  could  acquire  support  to  cause  the  mischie 
which  it  has." 

The  character  of  the  daily  and  weekly  metropolitan  paper 
are  known  to  all  who  are  familiar  with  the  dailies  of  Phila 
delphia  and  New  York.  Newspapers,  which  are  careful  as  t 
the  quality  and  veracity  of  the  news  printed  and  aim  at  culti 
vating  sober  thought  and  respect  for  established  institutions 
find  little  or  no  patronage  in  our  communities.  But  thos 
which  serve  up  the  last  sensation  in  lurid  colors  and  furnis! 
cuts  of  the  actors  in  life's  tragedy,  find  a  ready  sale.  Ou 
people  care  less  for  sober  truth  than  for  sensationalism,  and  th 
newspaper  which  deals  a  pleasing  fantasy  or  indulges  in  wildes 
rhapsody  is  eagerly  purchased,  while  that  which  aims  at  bein, 
a  vehicle  of  ideas  and  a  guide  to  sane  thought  is  seldom  asked  foi 

The  influential  papers  in  our  territory  are  owned  or  con 
trolled  by  men  of  political  aspirations,  who  are  interested  i: 
winning  campaigns.  These  are  of  positive  political  conviction 
and  are  vigorous  defenders  of  the  party  with  which  they  ar 
identified.  The  papers  which  are  owned  by  individuals  no 
especially  interested  in  politics  have  no  well-defined  politica 
creed,  but  are  in  the  market  "for  business,"  no  matter  wh» 
seeks  their  aid.  Many  of  our  dailies  and  most  of  our  weeklie 
would  soon  pass  out  of  existence,  if  the  revenue  derived  froE 
political  campaigns  and  favors  shown  by  successful  candidate 
were  cut  off.  All  candidates,  however  honorable,  regard  news 
paper  advertisement  as  legitimate  expense,  and  the  papers  ar 
eager  for  this  patronage.  Men  of  culture  and  wide  experienc 
believe  it  ethically  justifiable  to  pay  a  sum  of  money  for  th 
support  of  a  newspaper  in  a  political  campaign.  Each  cam 
paign  means  two  contests ;  the  one  between  rival  candidates  o 
the  same  party  for  the  nomination,  and  the  other  between  riva 
candidates  of  different  parties  for  the  office.     In  each  of  thes' 


THE     INTELLECTUAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    LIFE.  193 

the  press  takes  a  leading  part.  Most  of  the  papers  are  "  ready 
for  business,"  and  the  independency  of  most  of  them  means 
that  the  candidate  willing  to  "do  business"  with  them  has 
control  of  the  sheet. 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  political  influence  of  these 
dailies  and  weeklies,  but  they  are  a  terror  to  the  average  candi- 
date for  office.  A  swarm  of  gad-flies  following  a  roadster  is 
not  more  persistent  or  pestiferous.  No  wonder  the  politicians 
of  rival  parties  club  together  and  effect  a  compromise  in  order 
to  escape  the  fleecing  of  the  press.  Candidates  invariably  do 
business  through  committees,  which  take  charge  of  campaigns 
and  regulate  advertising  material. 

Few  of  the  114  newspapers  make  money.  They  barely  sub- 
sist. But  the  financial  stress  under  which  most  of  them  labor 
destroys  their  influence  either  as  leaders  of  public  opinion  or 
advocates  of  reform  in  municipal  government.  Unworthy  men 
are  commended  for  office,  and  the  actions  of  friends  in  power 
are  defended,  no  matter  how  villainous  they  may  be,  while 
those  of  their  opponents  are  condemned,  no  matter  how  meri- 
torious they  are.  This  extreme  partisanship,  controlled  by  the 
financial  interests  of  the  proprietor,  is  soon  scented  by  the  pub- 
lic, and  although  it  still  patronizes  the  sheet  its  influence  in 
moulding  opinion  is  lost. 

Measured  by  whatever  standard  one  chooses,  the  conviction 
still  remains,  that  the  major  part  of  the  $234,000  annually 
spent  by  our  mine  workers  for  reading  material,  is  either 
wasted  on  trash  or  spent  for  that  which  debases  and  defiles. 
Science  and  art  are  traduced  in  order  to  pander  to  the  depraved 
sensuous  taste  of  the  masses  which  are  annually  more  and  more 
confirmed  in  their  vitiated  tendencies  because  of  the  stuff  they 
eagerly  devour.  The  quest  for  knowledge,  which  every  healthy 
soul  ought  to  acquire  to  assist  him  in  his  special  calling  and 
make  him  wiser  and  more  prudent,  is  not  the  motive  of  the 
purchasers  of  most  of  these  papers.  It  is  rather  a  morbid 
delight  in  reading  repulsive  scenes  in  life's  tragedy,  and  in 
seeing  nasty  and  miserable  pictures  taken  from  miry  depths. 

The  modern  newspaper  can  be  of  positive,  neutral  or  negative 
14 


194  ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

value.  It  can  only  be  of  positive  utility  when  it  educates  th 
conscience  and  stimulates  moral  activity.  When  it  stoops  t 
depraved  tastes,  or  debases  by  publishing  the  unseemly,  o 
misleads,  then  it  is  of  negative  value.  The  influence  of  th 
press  in  our  territory  is  not  to  raise  the  level  of  public  moralitj 
More  conscience  is  sadly  needed  in  the  journals  which  entc 
the  homes  of  our  people.  There  is  place  here  for  intelliger 
and  honorable  journalism  which  will  help  forward  all  goo 
causes  to  victory.  Before  this  is  possible,  however,  the  in: 
poverished  and  sturited  life  of  the  masses  must  be  made  richc 
and  broader ;  it  must  be  elevated  to  an  appreciation  of  high€ 
things  than  sensuous  pleasures,  vulgar  enjoyments  and  th 
latest  sensation. 

Club  Life  in  Mining  Towns. 

In  no  department  of  human  activity  is  the  tendency  denomi 
Dated  by  Professor  Giddings,  "consciousness  of  kind,"  moi 
pronounced  than  in  the  organizations  of  clubs  in  our  towr 
and  villages.  We  have  all  kinds :  political,  social,  musica 
dancing,  culture,  citizens',  etc.  Men  join  these  according  1 
their  predilection,  and  the  bond  of  union  is  common  interest  i 
the  same  objects  and  enjoyments.  It  is  impossible  to  give  th 
number  of  all  the  clubs  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields.  We  wi 
limit  ourselves  by  describing  club  life  in  two  typical  minin 
towns. 

In  1895,  a  law  was  passed  in  Harrisburg  granting  the  boar 
of  directors  of  any  school  district  outside  cities  of  the  first  an 
second  class,  the  power  to  establish  a  library  in  connection  wit 
the  public  school,  for  the  use  of  the  citizens  in  general.  A  ta 
of  one  mill  per  year  on  the  taxables  of  the  school  district  ca 
be  imposed  for  the  maintenance  of  such  a  library.  In  tl 
year  1898,  the  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  saic 
"  Comparatively  few  districts  have  availed  themselves  of  tl 
recent  library  legislation."  Boroughs  of  from  10,000  to  20 
000  inhabitants  in  these  coal  fields  have  established  such 
library,  but  boroughs  of  6,000  population  and  under  have  no 
In  the  cities  of  Scranton  and  Wilkesbarre,  free  public  librari* 


THE    INTELLECTUAL    AND     RELIGIOUS     LIFE.  195 

have  been  founded  by  the  munificence  of  public-spirited  citizens, 
but  outside  these  cities  few  free  public  libraries  exist.  Public 
school  houses  are  not  desirable  places  for  a  public  library.  It 
is  an  institution  for  the  training  of  children,  and  it  is  difficult  to 
interest  the  young  man,  who  is  on  the  threshold  of  manhood, 
in  a  library  located  in  an  institution  which  he  has  left.  Further- 
more, books  are  not  the  things  the  average  boy  of  the  mine 
workers  delights  in,  and  in  the  public  school  there  is  hardly 
room  to  spare  to  keep  the  books,  to  say  nothing  of  a  convenient 
place  to  satisfy  the  desire  of  boys  for  games  and  amusements. 
Andrew  Carnegie  offered  Carbondale  $25,000  to  build  a  public 
library,  providing  the  town  would  give  the  site  and  appropriate 
$2,500  annually  for  its  maintenance.  A  resident  of  the  town 
offered  to  donate  the  site,  but  the  town  council  would  not  make 
the  requisite  annual  appropriation.  Hence,  as  far  as  public 
libraries  are  concerned  very  few  exist,  and  the  experience  of 
those  in  charge  of  the  few  which  exist  is,  that  the  children  of 
mine  workers,  as  a  rule,  do  not  patronize  them. 

There  are,  however,  in  our  larger  towns,  reading  circles, 
whose  members  are  largely  made  up  of  the  wives  and  daugh- 
ters of  professional  men.  Years  ago,  many  intelligent  mine 
workers  founded  clubs  which  regularly  met  for  the  discussion 
of  philosophical  subjects,  which  widened  their  range  of  knowl- 
edge and  added  to  their  wisdom.  Unfortunately,  their  descen- 
dants are  not  so  inclined ;  these  prefer  to  spend  their  time  and 
leisure  in  amusement  and  frolic  ;  they  have  little  taste  for  read- 
ing and  care  less  than  their  fathers  did  for  general  culture ; 
their  imagination  has  not  been  trained  to  see  the  beauties  of 
literature  and  many  of  them  left  the  public  school  before  they 
acquired  a  thirst  for  knowledge.  Also  many  men,  who  were 
intellectually  active  and  deeply  interested  in  the  moral  and  in- 
tellectual life  of  their  town,  have  migrated  because  of  the  immi- 
gration of  cheap  labor.  Our  towns  feel  the  want  of  these  sturdy 
and  thrifty  men.  The  descendants  of  Anglo-Saxons  who  re- 
main in  these  coal  fields,  are  not  so  steady  and  thoughtful  as 
their  fathers.  Life  is  not  so  serious  to  them  as  it  was  to  the 
early  immigrants  from  the  British  Isles. 


196  ANTHRACITE    COAL,    COMMUNITIES. 

The  absence  of  any  appliances  whereby  young  men  can  it 
prove  their  time,  possibly  accounts  for  the  drift  away  from  i 
tellectual  activity  and  self-culture.  This  want  is  to  be  regrette 
and  is  due  as  much  to  ignorance  of  the  requirements  of  the  a: 
as  to  the  penury  which  characterizes  immigrants  bent  on  acqui 
ing  possession.  Ample  wealth  has  been  extracted  from  the 
coal  basins  to  provide  appliances  and  men  for  the  moral  cultu 
of  the  two  last  generations.  A  start  has  been  made  by  soe 
of  the  companies,  which  has  in  it  the  promise  of  better  thin^ 
but  the  greatest  need  is  to  awaken  the  people  themselves  to 
sense  of  their  wants,  so  that  they  will  be  ready  and  willing 
spend  time  and  money  in  self-culture. 

In  the  town  of  Mahanoy  City,  (population  13,500)  a  Cha 
tauqua  Circle  flourished  for  fourteen  years,  having  an  a  vera; 
of  20  members.  It  still  exists  as  a  reading  circle.  Two  oth 
reading  clubs  exist,  averaging  12  members  each.  There  are, 
this  town,  5  members  of  the  Book  Lovers'  Library.  The 
is  here  also  a  public  library  of  about  1,500  volumes  connect 
with  the  public  school.  In  the  four  reading  clubs  the  majori 
of  the  members  are  females  —  the  wives  and  daughters  of  m< 
in  the  professions  or  teachers  in  the  public  school.  From  t' 
1 2,000  people,  who  depend  upon  the  mines  for  their  subsistenc 
not  a  single  member  was  taken.  Of  the  patrons  of  the  pub" 
library  very  few  are  children  of  mine  workers.  The  boo 
are  almost  wholly  taken  out  by  the  leisure  class  which  has  hac 
liberal  education  in  the  public  school. 

The  same  conditions  prevail  in  the  town  of  Olyphant.  He 
a  Chautauqua  Circle  had  a  precarious  existence  for  some  yeai 
averaging  about  six  members,  all  of  whom  were  teachers  in  t 
public  schools  or  daughters  of  the  leading  citizens.  Durii 
nine  years  three  attempts  were  made  by  ambitious  and  respe( 
able  young  men  to  organize  and  maintain  a  self-culture  clu 
but  each  failed  after  an  existence  of  from  three  to  seven  montl 
One  of  the  chief  barriers  to  success  was  lack  of  funds  to  car 
on  the  work,  but  in  addition  to  this  the  organizations  lack 
capable  men  at  the  helm  as  well  as  enthusiasm  in  the  membc 
lasting  for  twelve  months  in  the  year.     During  winter  mont 


THE    INTELLECTUAL    AND    RELIGIOUS     LIFE.  197 

the  club  flourished,  but  as  soon  as  summer  came  the  woods  and 
the  sunshine  were  greater  attractions  than  books  and  a  stifling 
room.  An  attempt  to  organize  a  branch  of  the  Christian  Union 
Association  succeeded  for  two  years,  when  financial  embarrass- 
ment again  overcame  the  members  and  the  work  ceased.  An- 
other attempt  was  made  to  organize  a  suburban  bicycle  club. 
This  continued  in  existence  for  four  years  when  again  financial 
stress  proved  fatal. 

In  all  these  attempts  at  organizing  self-improvement  clubs 
the  one  great  obstacle  was  lack  of  funds.  The  success  of  the 
Railroad  Y.  M.  C.  A.  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  the  rail- 
road officials  contribute  two  thirds  of  the  money  for  the  erec- 
tion of  buildings  and  equipment.  If  suitable  buildings  and 
equipment  were  available  in  the  above  experiments  probably 
better  results  would  have  been  obtained.  The  same  has  been 
the  experience  of  other  towns  in  the  coal  fields.  Wherever 
attempts  to  organize  clubs  for  self-improvement  have  been  made 
financial  difficulties  have  proved  fatal.  It  is  also  true  that  few 
of  the  boys  employed  in  and  around  the  mines  were  interested 
in  these  volunteer  organizations.  The  members  were  young 
men  engaged  in  stores,  offices,  clerical  work  around  the  mines 
or  engineers.  The  boy  who  most  needs  help  of  this  nature 
was  not  there  and  he  would  not  join,  for  his  general  culture 
was  not  wide  enough  to  enable  him  to  see  that  75  cents  a  month 
spent  in  the  maintenance  of  a  self-improvement  club  was  a 
better  investment  than  a  dollar  squandered  in  the  saloon  for 
beer  and  tobacco.  It  is  also  obvious  that  these  organizations 
will  not  succeed  unless  they  are  headed  by  competent  men.  A 
building  and  furniture  placed  at  the  disposal  of  young  men 
without  a  man  intellectually  and  morally  strong  in  charge  of  it 
may  be  a  curse  and  not  a  blessing.  In  this  work  men  count 
more  than  money. 

Some  self-improvement  clubs  are  found  among  the  Sclavs. 
A  society  in  Olyphant  among  the  Little  Russians,  numbering 
80  members,  has  flourished  for  many  years.  It  has  a  library 
of  300  volumes  and  each  winter  stereopticon  lectures  and  en- 
tertainments are  planned  by  the  executive  committee.     There 


198  ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

was  a  man  at  the  head  of  this  organization,  Rev.  J.  J.  Ardar 
who,  unfortunately,  has  left  the  field  because  of  differences  c 
opinion  on  ecclesiastical  rights.  In  Nanticoke,  a  flourishin, 
club  is  supported  by  the  young  Polanders  which  is  headed  b; 
a  layman  of  sterling  qualities.  Organizations  of  this  natur 
are  rare  among  the  Sclavs,  however.  There  are  in  most  of  ou 
large  towns  citizens'  clubs  organized,  which  are  generally  i: 
charge  or  under  the  supervision  of  the  priests.  The  object  o 
the  organizations  is  to  qualify  Sclav  immigrants  for  the  dutie 
of  citizenship.  The  good  work  accomplished  by  these  club 
has  frequently  received  commendation  from  the  judges  of  ou 
courts,  who  have  been  greatly  gratified  at  the  accuracy  and  eas 
with  which  some  of  these  men  answer  the  questions  put  t 
them  when  applying  for  naturalization. 

The  Hazleton  District  has  had  many  anomalies  which  hav 
been  mentioned  in  the  progress  of  our  study,  and  yet  it  i 
here  we  find  the  only  practical  effort  made  by  philanthropi 
men  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  youth  of  the  anthracit 
coal  fields.  In  1893  the  "  Mining  and  Mechanical  Institut 
of  the  Anthracite  Coal  Region  of  Pennsylvania  "  was  organize( 
for  the  purpose  of  training  miners,  mechanics,  apprentices  an( 
those  employed  in  the  care  and  management  of  machinery,  s< 
as  to  make  them  of  "  much  greater  value  to  themselves  an( 
to  those  for  whom  and  with  whom  they  work.''  In  1894  tb 
institute  was  chartered.  In  1902  its  present  commodiou 
home,  in  Freeland,  was  opened.  It  has  a  free  reading  room,  j 
reference  library,  four  recitation  rooms,  seven  instructors  anc 
an  enrollment  of  138  students.  It  has  sent  many  students  t( 
Lehigh  University,  some  of  whom  have  highly  distinguishe( 
themselves.  A  nominal  fee  is  charged  scholars,  but  th< 
institute  is  maintained  by  the  voluntary  contributions  oi 
public-spirited  men  at  the  head  of  whom  stand  the  Coxe 
of  Drifton,  to  whose  philanthropic  enterprise  it  owes  its  ex 
istence.  Institutes  of  this  nature,  discretely  planted  in  th( 
anthracite  region,  would  afford  opportunities  of  self-improve 
ment  to  capable  and  ambitious  mine  employees  and  result  ii 
preparing   a  body  of  men,   whose   technical   knowledge   an( 


THE    INTELLECTUAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    LIFE.  199 

larger  intelligence,  would  greatly  benefit  employers  of  labor  in 
this  industry. 

An  institution  that  has  done  good  service  in  quickening  the 
intellectual  activity  of  hundreds  of  young  men  in  the  anthracite 
coal  fields  is  the  International  Correspondence  Schools  of 
Scranton.  This  year  (1903)  it  has  enrolled  16,200  students 
in  the  anthracite  coal  fields,  25  per  cent,  of  whom  take  mining 
courses,  and  75  per  cent,  is  trained  in  other  branches  of  knowl- 
edge, such  as  drawing,  electrical  and  commercial  courses.  The 
number  of  Sclav  young  men  entering  these  courses  is  annually 
increasing.  They  form  to-day  about  5  per  cent,  of  the  total 
mine  employees  enrolled.  The  students  range  from  18  to  40 
years  of  age  and  represent  nearly  all  the  nationalities  in  the 
coal  fields.  But,  notwithstanding  the  large  number  of  students 
enrolled  by  the  above  school  and  kindred  institutions  in  our 
mining  towns  and  villages,  yet  the  total  number  forms  only 
about  15  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  persons  between  18  and 
40  years  in  our  territory.  Among  the  students  are  many  per- 
sons of  bright  parts,  whose  talents  deserve  better  opportunities 
and  a  more  liberal  training. 

The  dearth  in  intellectual  and  moral  appliances  is  great  in 
mining  towns,  but  the  moment  we  pass  into  the  sphere  of 
clubs  for  amusements  there  is  a  superfluity  of  them.  Their 
chief  diversion  is  dancing,  and  although  there  are  not  wanting 
in  our  communities  many  who  heartily  agree  with  Sebastian 

Brand : 

**  Gedank  ich  aber  nun  daher, 
Wie  der  Tanz  aus  Sund  enspringen  sei, 
So  mark  ich,  und  mir  bleibt  kein  Zwiefel, 
Dass  ihn  erfunden  hat  der  Teufel," 

yet  the  practice  goes  on  with  few  restraints.  The  priests 
sometimes  interfere.  They  have  been  known  to  enter  dancing 
halls  with  whip  in  hand  and  break  up  the  dance.  "  Young 
America"  resents  this,  however,  and  it  is  of  less  frequent  occur- 
rence to-day  than  in  former  years.  Protestant  pastors  denounce 
it  from  the  pulpit,  but  their  words  have  little  or  no  effect ;  they 
have  not  tried  the  whip,  because  — . 


200  ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

Dancing  circles  aim  at  social  differentiation,  but  occasionally 
some  of  the  ^^  smart  set "  forget  their  social  standing  in  the  in 
toxication  of  a  public  dance.  Lippert  classifies  music  am 
dancing  with  the  intoxicants,  for  the  reason  that  they  have  i 
tendency  to  lull  thought  and  banish  care.  Whoever  has  watchec 
those  fond  of  music  and  dancing  readily  concur  in  this  view 
Young  respectable  women  will  so  far  forget  themselves  ii 
a  dancing  hall  as  freely  to  associate  and  dance  with  men  whoir 
they  would  be  ashamed  to  recognize  on  the  street. 

In  every  town  of  3,000  or  more  population  there  are  frorr 
one  to  eight  clubs  which  regularly  meet  for  dancing.  These 
organizations  represent  the  various  grades  in  the  social  structure 
of  a  mining  town.  The  most  select  have  from  two  to  three 
dances  in  a  season.  The  couples  are  invited  and  charged  aboul 
$2.50  for  the  evening's  enjoyment.  The  committee  furnisher 
hall,  music,  decoration  and  refreshments,  which  represent  an 
outlay  of  about  $200  in  a  town  of  14,000  population.  Another 
club  more  democratic,  but  still  eclectic,  meets  for  a  dance  every 
two  weeks.  Invitations  are  sent  and  each  couple  pays  from 
50  to  75  cents,  according  to  the  number  present  and  the  ex- 
penses incurred.  No  definite  program  is  prepared,  and  when 
refreshments  are  served  the  charge  is  $1  a  couple.  From 
these  gatherings  mine  employees,  performing  manual  labor,  are 
generally  excluded.  This  club  would  spend  from  $25  to  $45 
on  the  evening's  enjoyment.  Then  manual  workers  have  their 
clubs,  in  which  little  formality  prevails,  but  which  are  never- 
theless strictly  governed  by  a  code  of  rules  which  are  rigidly 
enforced.  These  meet  generally  once  a  week.  No  invitations 
are  issued,  no  program  prepared  and  no  refreshments  served. 
The  hall  is  open  to  the  public ;  the  men  pay  25  cents  entrance 
fee  and  the  women  nothing.  Hats  are  worn  in  the  hall  and 
smoking  is  indulged  in.  Within  the  hall,  the  rules  of  ordinary 
conventionalities  are  suspended,  and  no  young  man  needs  hesi- 
tate to  ask  any  young  woman  in  the  room  to  dance  with  him. 
If  a  young  woman  refuses  to  dance  with  any  man  who  asks  her 
and,  later  in  the  evening,  responds  to  some  other  man  present, 
the  affronted  one  can  complain  to  the  committee  in  charge 


THE    INTELLECTUAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    LIFE.  201 

and  the  young  woman  will  be  asked  to  leave.  These  gather- 
ings are  very  popular,  and,  when  the  summer  months  come,  the 
club  arranges  its  dances  in  a  public  park,  so  that  the  diversion 
goes  on  during  every  season  of  the  year.  The  only  time  when 
a  preceptible  falling  off  takes  place  is  during  Lent  and  Christ- 
mas time.  The  expense  incurred  in  these  gatherings  does  not 
exceed  $25  in  the  winter  season  and  about  half  that  in  summer. 

Besides  these  dancing  clubs,  there  are  a  few  music  clubs. 
New  clubs  are  organized  when  a  new  craze  takes  hold  of  young 
people.  A  new  game  or  a  fad  that  might  become  the  rage  of 
the  season  will  effect  this. 

From  a  careful  computation  of  a  limited  area  of  the  number 
of  young  persons,  from  16  to  30  years  of  age,  interested  in 
dancing  and  games  of  amusement,  we  found  from  50  to  55 
per  cent,  directly  or  indirectly  attracted  to  these  diversions, 
while  hardly  15  per  cent,  was  interested  in  technical  knowledge 
or  general  culture. 

From  a  study  of  the  needs  of  our  young  people  as  manifested 
in  club  life,  thirst  for  amusement  stands  forth  most  prominently. 
Music  and  dancing  have  ever  been  the  great  amusements  of  all 
barbaric  people,  and  they  still  have  a  hold  upon  our  natures. 
No  curriculum  which  professes  to  give  men  and  women  ac- 
complishments which  fit  them  for  entering  or  entertaining 
society,  leaves  them  out.  Music  by  the  old  philosophers  was 
used  as  the  best  means  to  humanize  the  mind,  to  soften  the 
temper  and  to  dispose  it  for  performing  all  the  social  or  moral 
duties  both  of  public  and  private  life.  Dancing  has  been 
equally  depended  upon  to  give  grace  to  the  movements  of  the 
body,  expression  to  the  joy  of  the  soul,  and  response  to  glad- 
dening influence.  But  the  dancing  halls,  which  are  weekly 
patronized  by  the  working  classes  of  these  mining  towns,  are 
not  fit  places  for  our  young,  for  their  minds  are  not  humanized 
and  their  bodies  are  not  refined  in  them.  False  standards  of 
social  life  are  developed  there.  Dangerous  and  daring  men 
have  perfect  freedom  and  are  under  no  restraint  in  cementing 
friendship  with  gullible  young  girls,  which  often  means  their 
ruin.     There  is  no  refining  influence  exerted  in  the  hall  and 


202  ANTHRACITE    COAL     COMMUNITIES. 

the  vices  resulting  from  these  dancing  halls  have  frequently  bee: 
brought  home  with  a  rude  shock  to  families  in  these  coal  field? 
The  thirst  for  amusements  is  natural  and  cannot  be  sup 
pressed.  What  we  need  is  suitable  places  where  the  youn 
may  gather  and  find  a  wholesome  environment,  in  which  th 
pent-up  activities  of  the  body  and  the  mind  may  find  an  outlei 
without  lowering  their  standard  of  morality  and  laying  ther 
open  to  vice.  The  bad  must  be  displaced  by  the  good,  the  dc 
basing  by  the  refining,  and  the  degrading  by  the  uplifting,  if  th 
young  people  are  to  be  protected.  In  connection  with  oppoi 
tunity  for  pure  and  healthy  forms  of  amusement  and  entertair 
ment,  those  anxious  for  technical  or  general  literary  cultui 
should  also  be  aided.  When  a  better  environment  is  create 
for  our  young  people  and  the  advantages  of  increased  culture  : 
opened  to  them,  a  better  moral  tone  will  soon  follow  and  tl 
dangers  to  which  they  are  now  exposed  will  be  eliminated. 

The  Work  of  Temperance  Reform. 

The  evil  effects  and  the  prevalence  of  the  saloon  in  anthrj 
cite  coal  communities  will  be  treated  in  a  subsequent  chaptei 
just  now,  we  will  consider  temperance  organizations  in  oi 
territory  as  means  for  moral  reformation. 

Temperance  reform  is  advocated  by  churches,  special  ten 
perance  reformers,  and  by  mine-managers  from  consideratioi 
of  safety  and  economy.  Of  the  churches  in  our  territory  tl 
Roman  Catholics  have  the  most  flourishing  organizatioi 
which  are  fraternalized  into  one  union.  Efforts  are  also  mac 
by  Protestant  churches,  but  denominational  lines  hinder  c 
operation  in  a  town  or  village,  so  that  the  movement  lacks  tl 
enthusiasm  which  comes  from  federation  and  numbers.  Ter 
perance  reformers  frequently  enter  these  fields  and  lecture,  b 
their  work  lacks  continuity.  As  soon  as  the  speaker  leavt 
the  enthusiasm  dies  away  and  the  reformed  seek  the  old  patl 
Labor  organizations  and  operators  are  also  advocates  of  tei 
perance  because  of  economic  considerations,  and  their  pow 
and  influence  can  be  exerted  to  a  greater  degree  than  they  a 
in  behalf  of  temperance  reform. 


THE    INTELLECTUAL    AND     RELIGIOUS    LIFE.  203 

In  every  parish  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  throughout 
these  coal  fields  there  is  organized  a  branch  of  the  Father 
Matthew  Society.  In  addition  to  this  they  have  the  Catholic 
Total  Abstinence  and  Benevolent  Society,  whose  chief  distinc- 
tion is  its  insurance  feature  against  accident  and  death.  The 
same  parties  are  largely  members  of  both  organizations.  In 
the  Father  Matthew  organization  there  are  three  branches  :  two 
for  males,  the  senior  and  the  junior  or  cadets,  and  one  for 
females  called  the  Woman's  Auxiliary.  In  the  town  of  Oly- 
phant,  where  the  Irish  Catholics  number  about  2,000  souls,  the 
membership  in  each  of  the  branches  was  about  80.  In  the 
town  of  Mahanoy  City,  where  the  parish  comprises  about  5,000, 
there  are  about  255  members  in  the  senior  Father  Matthew  So- 
ciety. In  the  various  parishes  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  there  are  from  17,000  to  18,000 
men,  boys  and  women  enrolled  as  members  of  temperance  or- 
ganizations. Both  branches  of  the  Father  Matthew  Society 
are  supplementary  to  each  other.  The  junior  is  for  boys  of 
from  15  to  20  years,  and  as  each  comes  to  majority  he  is  trans- 
ferred to  the  senior  society.  The  management  of  the  junior 
branch  is  in  the  hands  of  the  boys,  under  the  supervision  of  a 
member  of  the  senior  society,  while  the  priest  in  charge  exer- 
cises supervision  over  both  organizations.  The  juniors  pay  25 
cents  a  month  and  the  seniors  50  cents.  Many  of  the  societies 
hold  real  estate  while  others  have  money  invested  in  building 
and  loan  associations  or  other  means  of  investment.  Some 
Father  Matthew  Societies  are  outside  the  union,  either  because 
of  their  choice  to  stand  alone  or  because  of  friction.  Gener- 
ally, however,  the  societies  affiliate  and  hold  an  anniversary 
when  much  enthusiasm  is  engendered  by  addresses,  a  parade  and 
a  banquet,  which  greatly  advance  the  cause  of  temperance. 
The  members  of  the  society  accomplish  a  great  amount  of 
good  in  our  towns  and  villages,  and  the  result  is  many  strong 
organizations  of  strictly  sober  young  men,  who  hold  positions  of 
trust  and  responsibility  in  the  anthracite  industry  as  well  as  in 
other  spheres  of  usefulness  in  these  coal  fields. 

Some  priests  have  also  introduced  into  their  parishes  branches 


204  ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

of  the  "American  League  of  the  Cross."  It  has  three  divis 
ions :  the  first  is  a  pledge  of  total  abstinence ;  the  second  ij 
anti-treating,  and  although  the  member  himself  takes  his  socia 
glass,  he  promises  not  to  accept  or  give  a  treat ;  and  the  thirc 
is  a  pledge  not  to  frequent  saloons  ;  when  the  member  takes  i 
drink  he  promises  to  do  so  at  home.  This  last  division  is  fai 
less  patronized  than  the  two  first,  which  largely  confirms  th< 
observation  of  students  of  the  drink  problem  that  men  frequen 
saloons  chiefly  for  social  intercourse  rather  than  for  drink. 

Among  the  Protestant  churches  efibrts  are  made  to  check  th< 
evil  of  intemperance  by  local  organizations  of  Bands  of  Hope 
Blue  Ribbon  Leagues,  Bolls  of  Honor,  Sons  of  Temperanc* 
Societies,  and  individual  pledges  used  by  pastors  in  thei 
parishes.  These  efforts,  however,  lack  cooperation  and  it  i 
often  the  case  that  half  a  dozen  such  efforts  are  carried  on  ii 
the  same  town,  wholly  distinct  the  one  from  the  other.  Th« 
only  effort  at  united  action  is  within  denominational  lines,  an( 
this  is  chiefly  limited  to  discussion  and  recommendations  in  th< 
annual  conferences  of  the  churches,  where,  in  the  nature  of  th" 
case  the  question  of  temperance  reform  is  given  a  subordinate 
place.  There  are  some  churches  doing  very  good  work  alonj 
temperance  lines  among  their  parishioners,  while  others  have  n< 
special  organization  to  this  end,  but  insist  upon  total  abstinenc' 
as  a  Christian  duty.  It  is  impossible  to  get  statistics  of  thi 
work  for  it  changes  continually.  A  change  of  pastor  or  de 
nominational  jealousies  may  cause  the  total  disruption  of  : 
flourishing  organization  within  a  year.  One  cannot  escape  th 
conviction,  that  the  work  of  temperance  reform,  as  carried  oi 
by  the  Protestant  churches,  lacks  organization  and  united  effort 
Most  of  the  Protestant  churches  in  mining  towns  are  weak,  an< 
separate  efforts  at  temperance  reform  must  ever  fail.  Whei 
local  churches  learn  to  cooperate  upon  a  platform  acceptabl 
to  their  leaders  some  good  may  come  from  the  movement.  Bu 
as  long  as  individualistic  efforts  spend  themselves  in  talks  an< 
resolutions  and  writing  pledge  cards  to  children,  the  evil  goe 
on  apace  and  the  young  men  are  impelled  to  the  saloon  by  so 
cial  instincts  which  have  no  other  means  of  gratification. 


THE    INTELLEOrUAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    LIFE.  205 

The  anthracite  committee  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  is  carrying  on 
a  work  in  our  mining  towns  and  villages  which  promises  good 
results.  It  plants  institutions  which  disregard  denominational 
lines  and  gives  our  young  people  means  whereby  their  passion 
for  social  intercourse,  entertainment  and  amusement  may  be 
gratified. 

The  influence  of  the  Miners'  Union  in  our  territory  has,  on 
the  whole,  been  in  favor  of  temperance  reform.  The  need  of 
reform  among  the  mine  workers  is  great.  The  Sclavs  all  drink. 
An  effort  by  one  of  their  pastors  to  organize  a  temperance  club 
failed,  for  the  people  did  not  see  the  use  of  it.  Public  senti- 
ment among  them  regards  temperance  agitation  pretty  much  as 
Anglo-Saxons  did  fifty  years  ago.  They  look  upon  it  as  a  craze 
of  fanatics,  and  regard  it  as  uncalled  for,  unwise  and  contrary 
to  good  social  habits.  Their  saloon  keepers  are  leaders  in  social 
and  religious  life  and  their  business  is  held  in  honor.  Sclav 
women  as  well  as  men  drink  a  social  glass,  and  no  gathering  is 
complete  which  has  not  a  plentiful  supply  of  whisky  and  lager  on 
hand.  The  difference  between  the  Sclav's  ethical  standard  and 
that  of  the  Anglo-American  on  this  question  was  well  illus- 
trated recently.  A  missionary  church,  supported  by  the  Pres- 
byterians among  the  Sclavs,  decided  to  hold  a  picnic.  On  the 
grounds  lager  was  freely  sold  to  increase  the  receipts  of  the 
day,  but  the  shock  given  the  benevolent  Presbyterians  who 
aided  the  cause  proved  almost  fatal  to  their  generous  sentiments. 
Before  temperance  reform  can  take  root  among  the  Sclavs,  a 
campaign  of  education  must  be  instituted.  Some  of  their 
pastors  take  pledges  from  young  communicants,  who  promise 
to  abstain  until  they  are  twenty  years  of  age,  and  in  order  to  do 
so,  the  priest  urges  them  to  keep  away  from  all  marriages, 
baptisms,  dances,  balls,  etc.  But  among  peoples  where  these 
events  are  of  such  frequent  occurrence,  the  young  people  are 
seldom  able  to  keep  such  a  pledge.  One  of  these  pastors  said  : 
"  You  can't  rely  on  them."  If  the  Miners'  Union  takes  a  pro- 
nounced stand  for  temperance,  and  its  leaders  be  men  who 
totally  abstain,  it  will  exert  a  wholesome  influence  upon  the 
Sclav.     Thus  far,  it  has  done  very  little  in  this  respect. 


206  ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

Entrepreneurs  in  charge  of  our  mines  also  exert  a  wholesom 
influence  in  temperance  reform.  Every  plant  in  the  anthracit 
coal  fields  to-day  represents  an  investment  of  hundreds  of  thou 
sands  of  dollars,  and  the  operators  cannot  afford  to  put  drink 
ing  men  in  charge  of  these  costly  concerns.  Many  efficien 
mine  officials  have  been  discharged  because  of  drink,  and  th 
tendency  is  to  exercise  greater  discipline  in  this  regard  amon, 
the  miners.  Fifty  years  ago,  it  was  nothing  unusual  for 
miner  to  take  a  quart  of  whisky  with  him  into  the  mines 
to-day  no  one  would  attempt  such  a  thing.  Many  years  age 
alcoholic  drinks  were  sold  in  the  company  stores,  while  saloon 
were  run  on  company  premises  in  close  proximity  to  the  col 
lieries.  Nothing  of  this  kind  is  tolerated  to-day.  Men  hal 
drunk  are  not  allowed  around  the  mines  and  a  debauch  ma 
cost  an  official  his  position.  When  men,  who  once  drew 
salary  of  $1,800  a  year,  are  reduced  to  company  work  at  $ 
a  day  because  of  intemperance,  it  is  a  forceful  object  leg 
son.  Officials  of  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  say  that  their  col 
lieries  lose  a  half-day  after  each  pay  because  of  drink,  whic 
amounts  to  twelve  days  in  the  year.  Mine  foremen  have  t 
keep  from  7  to  10  per  cent,  more  miners  than  they  need,  bt 
cause  of  the  loss  of  time  by  those  addicted  to  drink.  Ther 
are  indications  that  coal  operators  will,  because  of  economi 
considerations,  carry  on  a  vigorous  temperance  reform  by  elimi 
nating  the  inveterate  drunkards  who  regularly  lose  a  few  daj 
after  each  pay.  Discipline  of  this  nature  must  result  in  gooc 
if  mine  foremen  and  superintendents  will  be  able  to  withstan 
the  pleadings  and  importunity  of  the  drunkard's  wife. 

Legal  efforts  in  behalf  of  temperance  have  been  made  in  on 
State.  High  license  has  been  in  force  since  1887,  but  this  ht 
not  succeeded  in  reducing  the  number  of  saloons  in  our  town; 
The  laws  prohibiting  the  sale  of  intoxicants  to  minors  and  o 
Sunday  are  openly  violated  in  every  town,  while  the  number  c 
"holes  in  the  wall "  is  great.  Two  men  sold  intoxicants  witt 
out  license  on  the  principal  street  of  Olyphant  borough  for  ov( 
a  year,  and  they  were  only  driven  out  of  business  when  th 
Citizens'  Law  and  Order  League  of  the  City  of  Scranton  prose 


THE    INTELLECTUAL     AND    RELIGIOUS    LIFE.  207 

cuted  them.  This  league  has  done  much  good  in  the  mining 
towns  of  Lackawanna  county  in  driving  into  hiding  accursed 
dens  of  lawlessness,  which  flourished  by  the  connivance  of  well- 
paid  officials  whose  duty  it  was  to  execute  the  laws. 

But  in  our  territory  the  work  done  by  religious,  voluntary 
and  temperance  organizations,  the  influence  exerted  by  the 
Miners'  Union  and  the  prosecutions  of  a  league  of  reformers, 
do  not  check  the  evil  of  intemperance.  These  do  not  go  to 
the  root  of  the  evil.  They  do  not  recognize  the  fact  that  the 
temperance  question  is  only  a  part  of  a  far  greater  economic 
and  social  question,  which  embraces  the  conditions  of  life  and 
employment  of  these  thousands  of  mine  employees.  In  it  are 
involved  the  question  of  better  homes,  greater  dissemination  of 
knowledge,  education  of  public  opinion  and  the  instruction  of 
youths,  and  the  evolution  of  a  better  type  of  manhood.  Until 
these  counts  are  taken  into  consideration  and  work  begun  along 
these  lines,  the  evil  of  intemperance  in  our  towns  and  cities 
will  go  on  annually  increasing.  Every  patriotic  citizen  bewails 
this  great  evil,  and  the  time  has  come,  as  suggested  by  Prof. 
W.  O.  Atwater  in  the  Outlook  of  last  November,  that  all  advo- 
cates of  temperance  reform  should  find  a  common  platform  upon 
which  all  could  join  hands  in  combating  this  devourer  of  the 
substance  of  the  people.  Among  the  weapons  of  aggressive 
warfare  should  be  the  suggestions  of  a  body  of  patriotic  citizens 
of  Middletown,  Conn.,  as  given  by  the  Outlook :  "  Cheap  and 
clean  restaurants,  gymnasiums,  game-rooms,  reading-rooms, 
libraries,  and  people's  institutes,  saloons  and  clubs  where  in- 
toxicants are  not  sold,  recreation  piers  and  parlors,  and  public 
baths."  These  in  the  hands  of  intelligent  and  moral  men  will 
be  of  practical  service.  Arms  and  the  man  are  needed  ere  a 
new  epic  can  be  evolved  from  the  lives  of  the  men  and  women 
of  the  anthracite  coal  fields. 

Our  Churches  and  the  Clergy. 

Religion,  in  some  form  or  other,  has  played  an  important 
part  in  the  affkirs  of  men  from  prehistoric  times  down  to  the 
present  day,  and,  notwithstanding  the  changes  which  are  going 


208  ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

on  in  the  forms  of  religious  life,  there  is  no  likelihood  tha 
man  will  abandon  religion  so  long  as  he  feels  a  metaphysics 
need.  A  nation  cannot  cast  away  its  religion  as  it  can  it 
clothes.  It  is  the  inner  life  of  the  people  and  permeates  its  lar 
guage  and  poetry,  its  institutions  and  customs,  its  thoughts  an 
ideals.  It  has  often  taken  fearful  forms  which  no  one  ca 
fully  explain.  But  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  one  beneficent  n 
suit  which  these  gross  forms  accomplished  ;  they  fixed  the  yok 
of  custom  on  mankind  and  placed  so  fearful  a  sanction  upo 
law  that  no  one  dreamed  of  not  conforming  to  it.  And,  nol 
withstanding  the  gross  materialism  and  rationalism  of  our  da^ 
men  cannot  break  away  from  the  norms  of  conduct  which  ha\ 
religious  sanction. 

Religion,  more  than  any  other  socializing  force,  leaves  ii 
stamp  on  society,  but  its  social  value  depends  upon  the  degrc 
of  development  in  intelligence  and  morality  of  a  community 
Social  progress  is  realized  when  reason  and  judgment  displac 
passion  and  impulse,  and  the  advance  of  sound  knowledge  : 
fatal  to  all  superstitions.  Types  of  religion  based  on  fear  c 
ceremonies  having  some  assumed  remedial  effect  are  fast  disaj 
pearing,  and  our  only  hope  of  saving  the  masses  from  fallin 
into  gross  superstition  is,  by  offering  them  a  religion  of  reaso 
which  will  be  a  vast  positive  advantage  to  the  present  an 
future  of  society.  All  questions  are,  at  present,  submitted  1 
cold  intellectual  judgments,  and  the  claims  of  religion  ai 
subject  to  no  exception.  The  church,  if  it  is  to  preserve  i 
usefulness,  must  meet  the  rational  demands  of  mankind.  If  e 
nation  has  ever  flourished  without  a  religion,  the  defenders  < 
the  faith  must  show  why  it  is  dangerous  for  us  to  abdicate  tl 
faith  of  our  fathers.  The  church,  unquestionably,  has  still  i 
sphere  of  usefulness  in  the  world.  It  affords  a  school  of  di; 
cipline  for  moral  and  personal  perfection,  it  binds  the  conscien< 
and  the  will  to  fixed  principles,  it  demands  and  effects  this  : 
the  intellectual  and  moral  spheres  and  thus  does  a  work  whic 
no  other  institution  can  do  and  becomes  a  socializing  agency  < 
supreme  importance. 

There  is  no  dearth  of  religious  organizations  in  our  territor 


THE   INTELLECTUAL    AND    RELIGIOUS   LIFE. 


209 


Each  generation  of  immigrants  to  the  anthracite  coal  fields  has 
brought  its  distinctive  forms  of  worship  with  it.  At  no  time 
in  the  history  of  the  anthracite  industry  have  the  mine  em- 
ployees suffered  the  want  of  specially  consecrated  places  where 
religious  exercises  were  conducted.  The  confluence  of  nations 
brought  many  conflicting  creeds  and  ceremonies  which  have 
wrought  many  moral  ruins. 

In  the  last  decade,  many  Protestant  churches  have  been 
abandoned  in  these  coal  fields,  because  of  the  migration  of  many 
former  immigrants  and  the  extinction  of  foreign  tongues  which 
die  out  as  the  first  generation  of  aliens  passes  away.  The  follow- 
ing list  of  churches  of  leading  Protestant  denominations  in  the 
anthracite  coal  fields  shows,  however,  that  we  are  still  blessed 
with  a  superfluity  of  religious  edifices. 


Denominations. 

No.  of  Churches. 

No.  of 
Communicants. 

No.  of  Communi- 
cants per  Pastor. 

Methodist  Episcopal 

Presbyterian    

68 
48 
60 
35 
26 
39 
31 

18,914 
13,594 
7,752 
9,143 
2,939 
4,979 
5,259 

278 
215 

Baptist 

172 

Reformed     

274 

United  Evangelical 

CJongregational 

113 
140 

Episcopal 

169 

Total 

307 

62,580 

Aver.  194 

Taking  the  territory  as  a  whole,  there  is  a  Protestant  church 
for  every  500  nominal  Protestants,  and  a  pastor  for  an  average 
of  194  communicants.  The  value  of  church  property  held  by 
Protestants  in  these  coal  fields  varies  greatly.  The  most  costly 
edifice  is  found  in  Scranton — the  St.  Luke's  Church  —  valued 
at  $250,000,  while  the  least  costly  may  be  found  in  mine 
patches  and  would  hardly  be  worth  $500.  Great  variation  also 
prevails  in  the  salaries  of  Protestant  pastors.  Some  clergymen 
in  the  cities  of  Scranton  and  Wilkesbarre  get  $4,000  a  year, 
while  others  in  mining  towns  do  not  get  $400. 

The  following  are  the  number  of  churches  erected  in  our  ter- 
ritory by  the  Roman  Catholics  : 

Irish  Catholic. 63    Greek  Catholic......." 18 

German  Catholic 10    Lithuanian  Catholic 12 

Slovak  Catholic 15 

Polish  Catholic 19 


Italian  Catholic. 
Total 


143 


15 


210  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

There  are  besides  these  46  missionary  stations  and  chapel 
where  services  are  occasionally  held.  These  stations  are  chiefl; 
supplied  by  Sclav  priests.  There  are  in  active  service  18; 
priests  and  assistants,  and,  besides  these,  some  missionaries  i: 
certain  sections  of  the  coal  fields  working  among  the  foreigners 
The  nationality  of  the  priests  is  as  follows  : 

Irish  American 105    Slovak 14 

German  American 10    Italian 5 

Polish 19    Lithuanian 11 

Greek 18  

Total 182 

There  are  in  the  coal  fields  between  250,000  and  270,00 
Roman  Catholics.  Each  parish  has  an  average  of  about  1,50 
souls  and  each  priest  has  an  average  of  1,300  souls  under  hi 
charge. 

When  the  Welsh  and  English,  the  Irish  and  Scotch  settle 
in  these  coal  fields  they  erected  church  edifices  to  worship  thei 
God,  and  the  Sclavs  do  the  same.  During  the  last  20  yean 
imposing  church  edifices  have  been  erected  in  our  minin 
towns  where  Sclavs  have  settled.  The  Ruthenians  and  Pok 
began  to  settle  in  the  town  of  Shenandoah  in  the  year  188( 
when  the  population  was  about  10,000.  In  1890,  the  popi 
lation  was  increased  to  nearly  15,000  —  the  increase  bein 
made  up  wholly  of  Sclav  immigrants.  To-day,  there  are  ov€ 
20,000  people  residing  in  the  borough  and  over  12,000  ( 
them  are  Sclavs.  In  1882  the  Ruthenians  erected  the  fin 
Sclav  church  in  Shenandoah,  now  the  Sclavs  have  five  hous( 
of  worship  in  this  flourishing  mining  town  which  are  valued  { 
over  $110,000.  The  German  and  Irish  Catholics  have  each 
church  and  both  parishes  have  about  3,500  souls,  while  tl 
Protestants  have  12  churches  to  meet  the  spiritual  needs  ( 
5,000  souls.  The  invasion  of  the  Sclavs  has  driven  out  man 
English-speaking  peoples  and  some  Protestant  churches  i 
Shenandoah  which  flourished  20  years  ago  are  to-day  pastorles 
and  are  changed  into  missionary  stations.  In  Mahanoy  Cif 
(13,500  population)  the  Sclavs  have  five  churches,  erected  i 
the  last   15   years,  which   represent  an  investment  of  aboi 


THE   INTELLECTUAL   AND    RELIGIOUS   LIFE.  211 

$80,000.  The  Irish  and  German  Catholics  have  2  churches, 
while  the  Protestants  have  11  places  of  worship.  In  Mt. 
Carmel  (13,000  population),  the  Sclavs  have  3  churches,  the 
German  and  Irish  2,  and  the  Protestants  14.  In  Hazleton 
(14,230  population),  the  Sclavs  have  5  churches,  the  German 
and  Irish  Catholics  2,  and  the  Protestants  14.  In  Nanticoke 
(12,000  population),  the  Sclavs  have  4  churches,  the  Irish 
Catholics  1  and  the  Protestants  12.  In  Olyphant,  the  Sclavs 
have  2  churches,  the  Irish  Catholics  1  and  the  Protestants  7. 
These  are  typical  mining  towns  and  the  Sclav  churches  erected 
in  them  are  monuments  of  the  fidelity  of  these  people  to  their 
religious  organizations. 

In  five  of  the  above-mentioned  towns,  whose  aggregate  popu- 
lation is  66,300,  we  have  81  churches,  which  is  one  to  every 
818  persons  or  120  churches  to  100,000  population.  In  the 
whole  of  Pensylvania  there  are  183  churches  to  every  100,000 
population  ;  in  England  144  to  every  100,000  ;  while  Australia 
leads  the  world  with  210  to  every  100,000.  In  the  above 
towns  the  Roman  Catholics  have  one  church  for  every  1496 
persons,  and  the  Protestants  one  for  every  460.  Thus  the 
former  have  67  churches  per  100,000  population  of  their 
faith ;  the  latter  have  217  to  every  100,000  of  the  Protestant 
faith.  The  policy  of  the  Catholic  church  is  to  erect  an  impos- 
ing structure  and  equip  it  with  costly  furnishings,  so  that  an 
average  of  $25,000  would  be  put  out  on  their  edifices.  Most 
of  the  Protestants  buUd  simple  structures  which  have  bare  fur- 
nishings, representing  an  average  expenditure  of  $7,000. 
Thus,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  Protestants  build  about 
three  times  as  many  churches  as  Roman  Catholics  do,  yet  the 
latter  expend  about  three  times  as  much  money  on  each  church 
as  the  former  do. 

The  Catholics  regard  all  parishioners  as  communicants ;  the 
Protestants  count  those  who  publicly  make  profession  of  faith 
as  members.  Of  the  adult  Protestant  population  about  39  per 
cent,  would  be  members,  two  thirds  of  whom  are  females.  If 
we  take  the  whole  Protestant  population  then  only  26  per  cent, 
would  be  communicants.     In  the  whole  of  Pennsylvania  the 


212  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

percentage  of  commuDicants  to  the  population  is  32.8.  It  i 
estimated  that  fully  40  per  cent,  of  so-called  Protestants  neve 
attend  divine  services,  unless  they  enter  a  church  when  a  frien 
is  buried.  In  a  careful  canvass  of  one  of  our  mining  towns  a 
to  the  religious  affiliations  of  the  inhabitants,  out  of  2,90 
families  visited  only  one  individual  was  found  who  discredite 
the  Christian  religion  and  had  no  sympathy  with  the  work  ( 
the  churches.  The  chairman  of  the  committee  said  we  have  n 
"  infidels  and  skeptics."  When  one  of  the  socialistic  speaker 
during  the  strike  last  year,  expressed  his  contempt  of  tl 
church  and  disparaged  the  Bible,  he  injured  his  cause  moi 
than  aught  else  he  could  have  done.  The  mine  workers,  bot 
Catholics  and  Protestants,  do  not  keep  away  from  the  church< 
because  of  lack  of  faith  in  the  Christian  religion.  It  is  rath< 
an  indifference  to  their  spiritual  interests.  Church  property  i 
our  mining  towns  and  villages  represents  an  investment  < 
from  $12  to  $14  per  capita  of  population ;  in  all  the  State  it 
$16  per  capita  of  population.  Nearly  $1.75  per  capita  ' 
population  per  annum  is  contributed  for  religious  work,  whi( 
would  be  about  $9  per  family. 

The  priests  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  have  charge  of  { 
average  of  about  1,500  souls.  The  Protestant  pastors  wou 
only  average  about  one  fourth  that  number.  The  salar}'^ 
priests  varies  from  $900  to  $1,200  a  year,  while  that  of  assi 
tants  is  $600.  In  addition  to  the  regular  salary,  the  priests  g 
the  perquisites  which  come  from  marriages,  baptisms,  buria 
catechumenical  instruction,  colenda,  etc.  In  large  congreg 
tions,  however,  when  the  returns  from  these  sources  exceed 
certain  sum,  they  are  to  be  turned  over  to  the  bishop  of  t 
diocese.  Parsonages  are  also  provided  for  the  priests  ;  in  the 
the  assistants  also  are  accommodated  and  pay  $300  a  year  1 
board,  etc.  The  heads  of  families  in  the  Catholic  church  a 
supposed  to  pay  a  minimum  of  50  cents  a  month  to  t 
organization,  while  single  men  pay  25  cents.  On  Christmas 
special  collection  is  generally  taken  for  the  benefit  of  the  prie 
to  which  each  adult  who  can  afford  it,  contributes  a  dollar 
more  according  to  his  circumstances.     Marriage  and  baptisn 


THE    INTELLECTUAL   AND    RELIGIOUS    LIFE.  213 

fees  range  from  $5  and  over,  according  to  the  social  standing 
of  the  party. 

Protestant  pastors,  in  mining  towns,  get  from  $300  to  $1,500 
a  year,  the  average  falling  below  $500.  In  two  of  the  leading 
denominations  in  these  coal  fields,  the  average  salary  of  the 
ministers  was  $437.57  and  $421.96  per  annum  respectively. 
We  have  known  men  to  serve  some  of  these  churches  for  $20 
a  month.  Ministers  also  receive  fees  for  marriages,  baptisms 
and  burials.  Parsonages  are  generally  provided  for  the  pastors 
of  the  Primitive  Methodist  church  ;  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church,  and  many  of  the  German  churches ;  but  this  is 
very  rarely  done  by  Presbyterians,  Baptists,  Congregationalists, 
etc.  Over  50  per  cent,  of  the  Protestant  pastors  in  our  terri- 
tory pay  rent.  Members  and  non-members  in  these  churches 
contribute  as  they  please,  and  seldom  is  anything  said  to  those 
who  take  the  privileges  offered  without  paying  a  cent.  A  Sclav 
priest  said :  "  If  a  man  does  not  contribute  his  share,  we  don't 
want  him."  A  Protestant  pastor  who  denounced  the  25-cent- 
a-month  Christians  had  "  notice  to  quit."  Marriage  fees  among 
Protestants  are  $5  and  under ;  baptismal  fees,  if  anything  is 
given,  never  exceed  $1,  certificate  included ;  and  burial  fees 
are  seldom  mentioned,  for  a  funeral  to  a  poor  family  means  a 
ruinous  debt. 

The  multiplicity  of  churches  among  Protestants  is  a  hin- 
drance to  success.  A  pastor  for  an  average  of  100  families  is 
an  inexcusable  burden.  During  the  last  20  years,  a  steady  exo- 
dus of  Anglo-Saxons  has  taken  place  from  these  coal  fields. 
This  has  affected  the  Protestant  churches  far  more  than  those 
of  the  Roman  Catholics.  The  former,  as  their  membership 
diminished,  felt  themselves  in  financial  straits  which  soon  told 
upon  the  quality  of  their  ministers,  and  drove  them  to  ques- 
tionable means  to  raise  funds  to  meet  current  expenses  ;  the 
latter,  although  they  lost  a  fraction  of  their  supporters,  were 
not  so  much  handicapped  by  financial  difficulties,  for  they  had 
carefully  avoided  building  too  many  churches.  Among  Protes- 
tant pastors  there  is  little  or  no  cooperation  for  religious  work. 
Each  congregation  has  all  it  can  do  in  these  mining  towns  to 


214  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

meet  current  expenses  while  all  kinds  of  devices  are  resortec 
to  to  wheedle  money  out  of  the  public.     Just  think  of  the  fol 
lowing  socials  advertised  by  the  supposed  fountains  of  spiritua 
life  in  communities  :  ^'  Klondike  social/'  "  a  match  social,"  "  ; 
guess  social/'  "  a  bean  social/'  "  a  fagot  social/'  "  a  cockle  so 
cial/'   "  a  pie  social/'  "  an  oyster  social/'  "  a  tie  social/'  '' : 
marriage  social/'  "  a  Tom  Thumb  social/'  "  a  mock  trial  so 
cial/'  "  a  cracker  match/'  "  an  April  fool  social/'  etc.     Thes' 
are  generally  held  in  churches,  where  divine  worship  is  con 
ducted  every  Sunday,  and  the  boisterous  behavior  of  youu] 
persons,  bent  upon  getting  a  good  time,  is  fatal  to  the  feeling  o 
reverence,  which  is  the  breath  of  life  of  true  worship.     Catho 
lies  resort  also  to  unworthy  means  to  secure  money  for  churcl 
purposes,  but  they  never  permit  them  to  come  within  the  wall 
of  their  consecrated  edifices.     Both  branches  of  the  Christiai 
church  cry  for  collection  after  collection  and  appeal  to  th 
gambling  instinct  and  the  craving  for  amusement  in  order  t 
keep  the  institution  alive.     This  cannot  inspire  joyful  venera 
tion,  and  such  means  of  getting  money  cannot  be  to  the  glor 
of  God  and  the  spiritual  edification  of  the  contributors.     So 
cials,  bazaars,  lotteries,  musicals  and   dancing,  card  playing 
etc.,  destroy  the  spiritual  power  of  the  church  and  reduce  man 
of  them  to  the  standard  of  secular  clubs.     It  is  comparative! 
easy  for  the  average  member  to  concentrate  his  effort  on  ma 
terial  affairs,  but  to  raise  him  to  that  exaltation  of  spirit  whic 
sees  "  visions  of  God  "  is  impossible.     How  far  this  materialis 
tic  type  of  Christianity  is  removed  from  the  New  Testamec 
type,  is  known  only  to  such  as  look  with  singleness  of  eye  upo 
those  heralds  of  the  cross,  who  caught  the  spirit  of  the  Maste 
and  were  ready  to  go  forth  without  purse  or  scrip  in  His  name 
These  anthracite  mining  communities  need  strong  men  full  c 
spiritual  force  who  are  ready  for  sacrifice  and  service.     Wea 
Protestant  churches  also  need  to  learn  the  lesson  of  cooperatio 
and  amalgamation.     Half  the  Protestant  pastors  could  be  we 
spared  from   these    regions,  and   one  third  of  the  Protestar 
churches  could  be  put  to  better  use  than  being  the  home  of 
handful  of  persons,  whose  chief  object  is  not  devotion  to  th 


THE   INTELLECTUAL    AND    RELIGIOUS   LIFE.  215 

truth  but  to  sectarian  tenets,  calculated  to  excite  their  languid 
devotion  and  play  upon  their  passions  and  credulity. 

Fully  96  per  cent,  of  the  Sclavs  are  adherents  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church.  There  are  a  few  Protestant  organizations 
among  them,  but  they  are  weak  and  far  removed  from  each 
other.  In  the  Wyoming  and  Lackawanna  valleys,  where  there 
are  about  40,000  Sclavs,  no  more  than  500  Protestant  families 
are  found  among  them.  Sclavs  come  from  countries  where 
Church  and  State  are  united,  and  some  of  the  priests  find  it  diffi- 
cult to  teach  their  parishioners  the  system  of  direct  contribution 
to  church  purposes.  In  former  years,  many  of  the  coal  oper- 
ators collected  the  monthly  contribution  to  the  priest,  deducting  it 
from  the  pay  at  the  office.  This  custom  has  now  almost  ceased 
—  the  companies  have  given  up  collecting  for  God,  but  still 
continue  to  do  so  for  Caesar.  There  is  considerable  diffigrence 
between  the  ritual  of  the  Ruthenians,  who  belong  to  the  Greek 
Orthodox  church,  and  the  other  Sclav  nations  which  are  ad- 
herents of  the  Latin  church.  To  avoid  conflict,  when  the 
question  of  precedence  arises,  the  bishop  of  the  diocese  issues 
instruction  as  to  the  mode  of  procedure.  Sclavs  of  different 
nations  or  tribes,  who  are  forced  to  worship  in  the  same  church, 
do  not  dwell  in  unity  and  considerable  friction  is  sometimes 
caused.  The  relation  between  the  Sclav  priests  and  the  Irish 
Catholic  priests  and  the  ecclesiastical  authority  is  often  strained. 
This  is  not  strange.  Among  the  Sclavs,  as  among  every  other 
body  of  immigrants,  the  restless  and  active  are  found  in  a  much 
larger  proportion  than  in  the  communities  whence  they  emi- 
grated. These  men,  although  adherents  of  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic church,  have  their  distinctive  racial  characteristics  which 
effect  their  mode  of  worship,  their  forms  of  government,  and 
their  sacred  holidays.  The  difference  between  a  Hungarian 
congregation  and  an  Irish  congregation  at  their  devotions  is  as 
great  as  that  between  English-speaking  Catholics  and  Protes- 
tants. Hence,  the  Sclavs,  when  they  are  subjected  to  the  rule 
of  American-trained  superiors,  find  a  considerable  difference  and 
many  of  them  are  inclined  to  resent  forms  to  which  they  have 
not  been  habituated. 


216  ANTHRACITE   COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

The  Poles  have  shown  considerable  independence  in  theii 
demands  for  control  of  their  property.  The  Ruthenians  have 
a  degree  of  freedom  in  church  government  not  known  among 
other  Sclav  congregations.  Their  priests  marry;  they  can  cal 
and  dismiss  a  pastor ;  and  the  property  is  vested  in  a  board  oJ 
trustees.  Many  aggressive  Poles  desire  like  freedom,  which 
has  led  to  many  schisms  and  much  litigation. 

Most  of  the  Sclavs  are  devout.  They  faithfully  attend  tc 
their  devotions  and  often  have  to  walk  many  miles  to  church 
The  edifice  is  generally  overcrowded,  and  it  is  nothing  unusual 
to  see  the  worshipers  reverently  following  the  service  and  de- 
voutly performing  the  gestures  on  the  side  walk  or  street  ir 
front  of  the  church.  The  cold  of  winter  and  the  heat  of  sum- 
mer make  no  difference  to  them;  through  foul  and  stormj 
weather  they  come  to  their  devotions.  Those  who  come  fron 
the  patches  generally  visit  the  dry-goods  store  after  mass,  and 
every  Sunday  scores  of  these  men  can  be  seen  carrying  theii 
purchases  home. 

Our  description  of  the  religious  life  of  these  coal  fields  wilj 
not  be  complete  if  we  say  nothing  of  the  superstition  which 
prevails  here.  It  is  of  the  lowest  kind,  and  although  it  pre- 
vails in  every  part  of  the  coal  fields,  the  type  met  with  ir 
Schuylkill  County,  where  a  large  number  of  Germans  and 
Pennsylvania  Dutch  is  found,  is  grosser  than  any  known  in  th( 
other  counties.  It  passes  under  the  name  of  "pow-wowing,' 
and  there  are  in  every  town  "  pow-wowers  "  many,  both  mak 
and  female,  who  can  cure  diseases  and  cast  out  devils.  Mar- 
velous cures  have  been  effected  by  these  men,  and  never  have 
they  failed  in  cases  of  burns,  erysipelas,  nose-bleeding,  rheuma- 
tism, felons,  cuts,  eczema,  etc.  The  "pow-wowers"  use  vari- 
ous cabilistic  utterances.  Many  of  them  use  words  of  Scrip- 
ture, while  others  utter  some  jargon  taken  from  a  mysterious 
volume  known  as  the  "Egyptian  Secret."  They  believe  they 
can  kill  and  make  alive  "  if  they  have  a  mind  to,"  and  with 
unerring  accuracy  they  can  tell  if  any  witch  or  evil-eyed  per- 
son has  placed  a  curse  on  a  child  or  woman.  They  give  medi- 
cine made  of  herbs  gathered  at  a  specific  time.     Mothers  take 


THE   INTELLECTUAL   AND    RELIGIOUS    LIFE.  217 

their  children  to  these  traffickers  in  the  black  art,  but  if  the 
child  is  not  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Trinity  the  "pow- 
wower"  will  do  nothing;  it  must  first  be  baptized.  The 
clergyman  and  the  magician  sometimes  meet  in  the  sick  room 
—  both  are  sent  for  to  heal  the  sick;  the  one  prays  and  the 
other  charms.  Some  cures  are  effiected  without  personal  con- 
tact. All  you  have  to  do  is  to  tell  the  "pow-wower''  the  name 
of  the  sick  and  the  color  of  his  hair,  etc.,  then  the  magic  word 
is  uttered  and  the  sick  is  whole.  In  some  cases  a  fearful  con- 
test takes  place  between  the  magician  and  the  witch,  but  seldom 
does  the  charmer  fail  to  triumph.  Patients  are  generally  treated 
three  times,  "for  there  are  three  persons  in  the  Trinity.'^  The 
vicarious  element  comes  in  often  times.  The  shaman  takes  the 
disease  unto  himself  and  suffers  in  behalf  of  the  patient;  for 
this  he  receives  extra  compensation  either  in  cash  or  stimulants 
to  sustain  his  waning  strength.  Fees  range  from  10  cents  to 
25  cents  a  treatment.  Patients  generally  pay  for  they  fear  the 
power  of  the  "pow-wower,"  but  some  fall  into  scepticism  and 
never  give  a  cent.  Many  persons  carry  charms.  Two  crossed 
sticks  placed  on  the  back  of  the  neck  is  an  infallible  remedy 
for  nose -bleeding.  Sacred  stones  are  a  sure  guarantee  against 
diseases,  while  an  old  horse-shoe  wrapped  up  in  red  flannel  and 
hung  over  the  door  brings  good  luck  to  the  home.  Around 
marriages,  births  and  deaths  an  innumerable  number  of  signs 
are  looked  for  which  are  ingeniously  interpreted  to  bring  good 
or  bad  luck  to  the  mother,  the  child  or  the  family. 

Here  in  communities  where  an  abundant  supply  of  churches 
and  educated  pastors  and  physicians  reside  is  found  as  gross 
and  absurd  superstition  as  in  any  heathen  country.  Intelligent 
and  God-fearing  clergymen,  skillful  and  well-trained  doctors 
are  discredited  in  the  presence  of  a  gibberish  muttering  "pow- 
wower"  by  persons  who  have  been  raised  in  the  public  schools 
and  in  the  Christian  churches.  It  prevails  not  only  among 
immigrants  but  just  as  much  among  the  native  born.  When 
one  of  the  "  pow-wowers  ^'  was  ridiculed  by  a  clergyman,  he 
turned  and  asked :  "Don't  you  believe  your  Bible?  Did 
Christ  not  say:    'Heal  the  sick,  raise   the   dead,  cleanse  the 


218  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

leper,  cast  out  devils  ? ' "  and  no  argument  based  on  the  specia 
significance  of  miracles  as  to  time  or  place,  nor  a  disparage 
ment  of  the  value  of  miracles  in  the  realm  of  truth,  wouL 
have  had  any  effect  upon  those  present  who  nodded  assent  t 
his  position,  while  there  was  considerable  danger  of  being  clas 
sified  as  an  infidel  or  a  scoffer. 

The  people  of  these  coal  fields  are  in  a  sense  "  too  religious,' 
for  their  faith  in  spiritual  realities  runs  to  excess  and  land 
them  in  gross  absurdities.  And  it  seems  that  pastors  an* 
priests  have  no  more  urgent  duty  in  these  regions  than  to  regu 
late  and  clarify  these  excesses  which  prevail  so  extensively  ii 
these  communities.  The  religious  sentiment,  like  every  othe 
power  of  man,  may  fall  into  a  pathological  condition  and  be 
come  a  source  of  vicious  influence  in  a  community.  The  ther 
apeutic  treatment  rests  with  the  church,  and  the  work  cai 
only  be  done  by  men  of  culture  and  strong  spiritual  insigh 
into  the  divine  order  of  the  universe.  Ours  are  Christiai 
communities  and  there  are  many  in  these  towns  and  village 
whose  consciences  are  regulated  by  intelligent  and  true  compre 
hension  of  Christian  principles,  but  among  the  majority  of  ou 
workers  there  is  a  co-mingling  of  heathen  superstition  and  rev 
erence  for  the  Christian  church,  which  is  mischievous  and  irra 
tional.  This  can  only  be  removed  by  painstaking  and  carefu 
educational  training  on  the  part  of  the  church,  which  duty  i 
owes  to  itself  and  to  society.  An  incongruous,  unscientific 
disconnected  and  general  presentation  of  the  truths  of  religioi 
once  a  week,  would  not  check  the  gross  superstition  of  th 
masses,  providing  all  were  to  attend  divine  service.  A  smat 
tering  of  philosophy  and  theology,  constructed  on  an  erroneou 
and  antiquated  foundation,  ill  prepares  a  minister  or  priest  t< 
be  a  guide  to  lead  these  people  from  the  by-paths  of  religion 
excesses  to  the  sober  and  sane  principles  of  the  Founder  of  th 
Christian  Religion.  A  materialistic  and  realistic  press,  fo 
seven  days  in  the  week,  batters  their  beliefs  in  spiritual  reali 
ties,  destroys  their  faith  in  existing  religious  institutions  am 
teaches  them  the  gospel  of  violence,  mammonism  and  mud  botl 
by  pen  and  pencil.     The  means  used  by  the  church  to  comba 


THE   INTELLECTUAL   AND   RELIGIOUS   LIFE.  219 

these  vicious  aud  pernicious  tendencies  are  wholly  inadequate,  and 
if  it  is  to  retain  its  hold  upon  the  people  and  be  in  the  future  as 
in  the  past,  a  prime  factor  in  man's  moral  history,  it  must  throw 
into  an  irreligious  and  materialistic  age  an  army  of  sons  and 
daughters,  well  prepared  for  the  systematic  and  scientific  train- 
ing of  the  people,  in  the  beautiful  and  sane  principles  of  the 
Nazarene. 

We  feel  also  that  religious  ideals  expressed  in  public  ad- 
dresses and  taught  by  systematic  training  are  not  enough  to  meet 
the  needs  of  the  masses.  Man  has  a  heart  as  well  as  a  head ; 
he  has  eyes  as  well  as  ears,  and  both  doors  ought  to  be  used  to 
lead  him  to  spiritual  realities.  What  is  there  in  the  bare  and 
plain  church  edifices  of  Protestants  to  arouse  spiritual  medita- 
tion ?  Are  not  forms  and  ceremonies  of  value  this  day  as  in 
days  of  yore,  in  order  that  the  people  assembled  for  religious 
worship  may  be  aided  to  the  higher  thoughts  and  moods  which 
Christianity  demands  ?  And  have  not  holy  days  —  festivals 
when  the  sainted  sons  and  daughters  of  past  ages  are  com- 
memorated for  their  fraternal  enthusiasm  —  their  object  lessons 
to  the  thousands  who  delve  in  these  mines  and  breakers  ?  Com- 
plaints have  been  made  that  the  Sclavs  have  too  many  holy- 
days  *  in  the  year,  for  they  interfere  with  the  production  of 
wealth  ;  would  it  not  pay  even  capitalists,  if  these  people  on 
holy-days  were  more  deeply  and  intelligently  to  understand  the 
spirit  of  the  men  they  commemorate  ?  The  one  thing  we  fear 
more  than  any  other  in  our  territory  is  lawlessness  and  anarchy, 
but  all  are  ready  to  confess  that  an  Augustine,  a  Benedict,  a 
Xavier,  a  Francis  of  Assissi,  a  Casimir,  a  Nichols,  etc.,  were 
not  anarchists,  and  a  devout  and  intelligent  commemoration  of 

*  One  reason  for  the  multiplicity  of  holy-days  among  the  Sclavs  is,  that 
we  have,  in  the  coal  fields,  representatives  of  both  the  Eastern  and  Western 
Churches.  The  Kuthenians  and  adherents  of  the  Greek  Church  observe 
their  religious  festivals  by  a  different  calendar  from  that  followed* by  the  com- 
municants of  the  Latin  Church,  hence  a  colliery,  having  200  Greek  and  200 
Latin  Catholics  among  its  800  employees,  will  not  be  able  to  carry  on  opera- 
tions when  either  group  celebrates  its  sacred  festivals.  If  the  spiritual  leaders 
of  this  people  were  able  to  effect  uniformity  in  time  in  the  observance  of 
church  festivals  a  part  of  the  grievance  of  "too  many  holidays"  would  be 
removed. 


220  ANTHRACITE    COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

them  will  not  produce  anarchists.  Does  not  church  histor 
teach  us  that  the  spirit  of  the  church  has  also  been  sane  whil 
exerting  its  regenerating  influence  upon  society  ?  Look  at  th 
figure  of  Ambrose  in  Milan,  Savanarola  in  Florence,  St.  Bei 
nard  at  Clairveau,  Thomas  a  Becket  in  England,  Luther  i: 
Germany ;  Wesley,  Finley,  Father  Matthew  and  Moody  i] 
modern  times.  The  protest  against  the  celebration  of  the  holy 
days  is  only  a  part  of  the  spirit  which  has  well-nigh  destroye< 
all  religion  from  the  lives  of  a  large  number  of  our  workinj 
classes,  and  this  absence  of  reverence  for  saints  and  sacre« 
things  leads  to  disregard  for  constituted  authority  and  industria 
discipline.  Can  any  sane  man  look  with  complacency  upoi 
the  destruction  of  faith  in  spiritual  realities  among  the  masses 
Suppose  these  men  say  :  "  Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morro\ 
we  die,"  will  our  commerce  and  industry,  our  laws  and  institu 
tions  stand  ?  Study  the  six  months'  strike  of  1902  in  thes 
coal  fields.  No  society  will  long  continue  to  believe  in  humai 
law  if  it  loses  its  faith  in  God,  and  the  church  has  work  to  d< 
in  this  Twentieth  Century  such  as  never  before  confronted  it 
No  nation  that  is  destined  for  a  long  life  can  dispense  with  uni 
versally  recognized  ideals,  and  the  moral  duties,  as  presentee 
by  the  Christian  church  to  every  individual,  must  be  the  basii 
of  permanent  existence  to  our  nation. 

How  can  the  working  class  be  led  to  due  appreciation  of  th< 
vital  and  spiritual  truths  of  the  Founder  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion? Pure  intellectualism  will  not  do  it.  The  eyes  anc 
hands  should  be  called  into  service  as  well  as  the  head  anc 
heart.  From  long  study  of  the  religious  need  of  the  men  anc 
women  of  our  communities,  we  are  led  to  the  conclusion  that  ii 
can  best  be  done  by  restoring  art  to  the  churches  and  exercising 
the  sensuous  spiritual  powers  of  men.  Protestants,  in  their  feai 
of  idolatry,  destroyed  the  sensuous  element  in  religion,  anc 
swung  to  the  other  extreme  —  a  process  always  injurious  tc 
society.  This  movement  has  had  an  evil  effect  upon  Roman 
Catholics  themselves.  It  has  vitiated  their  taste  and,  in  place 
of  the  art  which  adorned  the  cities  of  the  Fifth  Century,  we 
have  in  these  imposing  edifices  in  the  coal  fields,  brick-topping 


THE   INTELLECTUAL   AND    RELIGIOUS    LIFE.  221 

with  tin  to  give  the  appearance  of  stone  structures,  and  plaster 
of  paris  consoles  glued  to  wooden  cornices  ;  the  tin  rusts  and  is 
full  of  corroded  holes  and  the  plaster  of  paris  falls  off,  and  a 
miserable  sight  is  presented  in  many  of  these  churches  which 
are  supposed  to  be  temples  of  the  true  and  eternal  God.  Some 
of  our  greatest  social  reformers  have  pleaded  for  the  restoration 
of  art  to  the  people.  It  is  sadly  needed  and  especially  sacred 
art  which  raises  the  soul  above  the  world  of  work  and  need, 
of  struggle  and  misery,  to  that  of  sacred  feeling  and  passion. 
Milton  said  that  art  is  useful  "  to  inbreed  and  cherish  in  a  great 
people  the  seeds  of  virtue  and  public  civility  to  allay  the  per- 
turbations of  the  mind,  and  set  the  affections  in  right  tune." 
When  William  Meister  visited  the  Three,  to  whom  he  entrusted 
the  care  of  his  child,  they  told  him  "  one  thing  there  is,  how- 
ever, which  no  child  brings  into  the  world  with  him  ;  and  yet 
it  is  on  this  one  thing  that  all  depends  for  making  man  in 
every  point  a  man."  Meister  could  not  say  what  it  was,  and 
the  Three  said  :  "  Reverence,  Reverence."  They  inculcated  it 
by  gestures  and  symbols,  and  the  visitor  as  he  came  to  un- 
derstand the  foundation  of  the  instruction  imparted  to  the 
youth  said,  "  you  teach  the  doctrine  to  your  children  in  the  first 
place  as  a  sensible  sign,  then  with  some  symbolic  accompani- 
ment attached  to  it,  and  at  last  unfold  to  them  its  deepest 
meaning."  And  in  this  method  of  the  Three  there  may  be 
suggestions  to  the  religious  leaders  of  the  present  day. 


CHAPTER  Vlii. 

THE  MEN   AT   THE   BAR. 

1.  The  Three  Thousand  Saloons.     2.  What  Does  it  Cost  to  Keei 
Them  Going?    3.  Are  the  Mine  Workers  to  be  Blamed? 


The  Number  of  Saloons. 

The  saloons  are  not  equally  distributed  throughout  the  bor- 
oughs and  townships  of  the  anthracite  coal  fields.  As  above 
stated,  the  coal  operators  who  have  a  monopoly  of  some  villages 
where  their  operations  are  carried  on,  shut  out  the  saloon.  In 
isolated  cases  coal  companies  rent  a  building  for  this  purpose. 
But  mining  camps,  having  no  saloon  and  located  in  close  prox- 
imity to  towns  where  intoxicants  are  sold,  increase  the  number 
of  saloons  in  these  towns.  Thus  New  Philadelphia  has  a 
saloon  for  every  55  inhabitants,  but  around  it  are  half  a  dozen 
mining  patches  where  no  saloons  are  found.  M^Adoo,  with 
2,200  population,  had,  in  1901,  31  saloons,  or  one  for  every 
71  persons ;  but  around  it  are  Honey  Brook,  Yorktown, 
Audenreid  and  Silverton,  where  no  saloons  are  found.  In 
mining  camps,  however,  some  speak -easies  are  found  and  the 
beer  wagon  also  supplies  the  homes  with  alcoholic  drink.  But 
if  the  men  in  "  dry  "  mining  towns  want  to  enjoy  a  social  chat 
over  their  beer,  without  apprehension  of  interference,  they  must 
go  to  the  licensed  saloons. 

The  following  table  gives  an  idea  of  the  prevalence  of  saloons 

in  the  counties  of  Lackawanna,  Luzerne  and  Schuylkill  for  the 

years  specified : 

Lackawanna  County. 


Year. 

Population. 

1880 

89,269 

1890 

142,088 

1900 

193,831 

1901 

199,005 

1902 

199,005 

1903 

199,005 

Licenses 

Licenses 

Population 

Granted. 

Refused. 

per  License. 

224 

14 

398 

434 

43 

327 

591 

54 

328 

717 

29 

276 

692 

31 

288 

719 

44 

276 

222 

THE   MEN    AT   THE    BAR. 


223 


Luzerne  County. 

Year. 

Population. 

Licenses 
Granted. 

Licenses 
Kefused. 

Population 
per  License. 

1880 

166,637 

701 

138 

237 

1890 

223, 5Q7 

1,064 

182 

210 

1900 

257,121 

1,096 

134 

234 

1901 

262,712 

1,244 

40 

211 

1902 

262,712 

1,182 

119 

222 

1903 

262,712 

1,253 

SCHUYLKTLL 

81 
County. 

210 

Year. 

Population. 

Licenses 
Granted. 

Licenses 
Refused. 

Population 
per  License. 

1890 

154,163 

745 

50 

207 

1900 

172,927 

1,022 

70 

169 

1901 

174,803 

1,013 

65 

172 

1902 

176,679 

1,016 

50 

173 

1903 

178,555 

1,047 

170 

The  increase  in  the  number  of  licenses  granted  in  Lacka- 
wanna and  Luzerne  counties  in  the  year  1901  is  very  marked, 
while  just  as  clearly  a  falling  off  is  perceptible  in  Schuylkill 
county.  In  the  latter  county  there  was  a  steady  increase  in 
the  number  of  saloons  from  1893  to  1897.  The  maximum 
number  of  licenses  was  issued  in  the  year  1897,  when  one  was 
granted  to  every  150  persons  in  the  county,  but  since  then  a 
gradual  diminution  is  observed  in  the  number  of  licenses  issued. 
In  the  other  two  counties  no  such  variation  is  perceptible. 
If  the  advance  of  10  per  cent,  given  the  miners  in  1900 
had  the  effect  of  increasing  the  number  of  saloons  in  Lacka- 
wanna and  Luzerne  counties,  there  is  no  indication  of  any 
such  effect  in  Schuylkill  county.  Of  course,  the  number 
of  saloons  in  this  county  previous  to  1901  was  so  great  that  it 
is  surprising  how  the  proprietors  were  able  to  subsist.  The 
effect  of  the  strike  of  1902  upon  the  saloons  of  Schuylkill 
county  was  to  close  about  50  of  them,  and  the  wonder  is  that 
more  of  them  were  not  closed,  for  one  saloon  for  every  173 
inhabitants,  means  a  saloon  for  every  50  adult  males  in  the 
county. 

The  anthracite  mining  industry  is  the  economic  basis  of  the 
three  counties  mentioned  above  and  the  hint  given  by  the  effect 
of  the  last  strike  upon  the  saloons  of  Schuylkill  county  sug- 


224  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

gests  that  the  wages  earned  by  mining  largely  support  the 
institution.  The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  saloons 
and  the  number  of  tons  of  coal  produced  in  the  three  principal 
counties  of  the  anthracite  coal  fields. 


Lackawanna  County. 

Year. 

Tons  Produced.              Licenses. 

Number  of  Tons  Pro- 
duced Per  License. 

1891 

10,184,347                 459 

22,188 

1900 

12,282,108                 591 

20,781 

1901 

15,409,040                 717 
Luzerne  County. 

21,491 

1891 

17,726,559                 927 

18,043 

1900 

19,179,573              1,096 

17,499 

1901 

21,396,312              1,244 
Schuylkill  County. 

17,199 

1891 

9,957,111                 749 

13,294 

1900 

11,606,160              1,022 

11,356 

1901 

13,640,766              1,013 

13,465 

From  the  two  preceding  tables  we  see  that  the  saloor 
evil  is  greater  in  Schuylkill  county  than  in  the  other  twc 
counties.  The  chief  reason  for  this  is  the  fact  that  a  largei 
percentage  of  Sclavs  and  Germans  reside  in  this  county  than 
in  the  other  two.*  These  people  drink  lager  as  a  beverage  and 
regularly  patronize  the  saloons,  but  although  they  all  drink 
intoxicants,  very  few  of  them,  comparatively  speaking,  arc 
inebriates. 

In  each  of  the  above  counties,  however,  there  are  agricultural 
sections,  so  that  the  number  of  saloons  in  the  county  does  noi 
give  an  accurate  idea  of  the  place  the  saloon  holds  in  the  social 
and  economic  life  of  purely  mining  communities.  The  follow- 
ing table  gives  the  number  of  saloons,  etc.,  in  four  towns  oi 
Schuylkill  county. 

*  Dr.  Hugo  Hoppe  speaks  as  follows  of  the  relation  between  the  Germar 
element  of  our  population  and  the  frequency  of  saloons.  **  Nach  einer  Erhe- 
bung  fiir  1895-1896  waren  in  der  Union  237,235  Schankstellen  vorhanden. 
...  In  erster  Linie  steht  der  Staat  New  York  mit  1 :  144  Einwohner,  danr 
kommen  Illinois  mit  1 :  186,  Ohio  mit  1  :  214  and  Pennsylvania  mit  1  :  318 
Einwohner,  alles  4  Staaten,  wo  das  deutsche  Element  stark  vertreten  ist." 


THE    MEN   AT   THE   BAB. 


225 


Place. 

Year. 

Population. 

Licenses 
Granted. 

Persons 
Per  Saloon. 

Minersville. 

.        1890 

3,504 

24 

152.3 

<< 

1899 

4,684 

44 

106.4 

it 

1900 

4,815 

50 

96.3 

n 

1901 

4,815 

47 

105.4 

tt 

1902 

4,815 

47 

105.4 

ti 

1903 

46 

Pottsville. 

1890 

14,117 

V5 

188.2 

(( 

1900 

15,710 

72 

218.1 

(( 

1901 

15,869 

75 

211.5 

(4 

1902 
1903 

15,869 

72 
74 

220.0 

Ashland. 

1890 

7,346 

51 

144.0 

<( 

1899 

6,528 

46 

141.9 

(( 

1900 

6,438 

43 

149.7 

tt 

1901 

6,348 

45 

141.0 

tt 

1902 

6,348 

42 

151.0 

ti 

1903 

41 

M'Adoo. 

1897 

1,900(?) 

39 

49(?) 

(< 

1899 

2,122 

31 

68.4 

(( 

1900 

2,200 

29 

76.0 

tt 

1901 

2,200 

31 

71.0 

ft 

1902 

2,200 

30 

73.0 

tt 

1903 

32 

Each  of  the  above  towns  is  peculiarly  situated.  Miners- 
ville is  a  purely  mining  town.  Previous  to  1890  it  was  almost 
wholly  inhabited  by  English-speaking  peoples ;  now  30  per 
cent,  of  the  population  is  Sclav,  and,  in  1901,  36.1  per  cent,  of 
the  saloons  was  in  Sclav  hands. 

Pottsville  is  the  county  seat  of  Schuylkill  County  and  a  large 
number  of  professional  men  reside  there.  Many  retired  and 
wealthy  families  make  it  their  home,  and  it  is  also  a  business 
center  for  a  large  area  of  mining  camps  and  villages.  Hence 
it  represents  a  mixed  population  such  as  is  found  in  the  county 
seat  of  a  mining  region. 

The  coal  basins  around  Ashland  are  exploited  and  the  mine 
workers  who  reside  there  have  to  go  a  distance  of  from  five  to 
seven  miles  to  work.  Because  of  this  peculiar  condition  the 
non-English  elements  of  our  coal  fields  have  been  wholly  kept 
out  of  the  town,  and  the  residents  are  those  who  settled  here 
in  the  sixties  and  the  seventies  and  built  themselves  homes. 


16 


226  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

Hence  it  represents  a  typical  mining  town  of  English-speakii 
residents. 

M'Adoo,  as  above  stated,  is  surrounded  by  mining  cam; 
where  no  intoxicants  are  sold,  and  those  addicted  to  drii 
come  here  for  their  beer,  etc.     It  is  a  typical  mining  toT\ 
and  its  population  represents  various  nationalities  as  found 
our  regions. 

In   Minersville  and  M'Adoo,  where  the  Sclav  element 
strong,  the  saloons  are  most  numerous,  while  they  are  mo 
numerous  in  Ashland,  where  English  mine  employees  live,  thi 
in  Pottsville,  where  the  professional  and  commercial  class 
form  a  substantial  part  of  the  population. 

Mahanoy  City  and  Shenandoah  are  typical  mining  towi 
practically  wholly  dependent  upon  the  mining  industry.  Tl 
following  table  gives  the  number  of  saloons  in  each : 


Place 

Year. 

Population. 

Licenses 
Granted. 

Persons  per 
Saloon. 

Mahanoy 

City. 

1890 

11,286 

79 

143.8 

11 

1899 

13,283 

130 

102.1 

(( 

1900 

13,504 

135 

100 

(( 

1901 

13,725 

131 

104.7 

(C 

1902 

13,725 

137 

100 

It 

1903 

13,725 

143 

98 

Shenandoah. 

1890 

15,944 

83 

192 

(( 

1899 

19,884 

167 

119 

<( 

1900 

20,321 

166 

122.4 

(( 

1901 

20,700 

128 

161.7 

u 

1902 

20,700 

177 

117 

(( 

1903 

20,700 

174 

119 

The  reduction  in  the  number  of  licenses  issued  to  saloon 

etc.,  in  Shenandoah  in  1901,  was  the  result  of  a  vigorous  ant 

saloon  campaign  waged  by  some  of  the  citizens  which  was  coi 

tinned  in  1902,  when  a  brewer,  three  wholesale  dealers  an 

nine  bottlers  were  deprived  of  their  licenses  for  a  season,  becaui 

they  sold  to  unlicensed  places  and  disregarded  the  laws  regula 

ing  the  sale  of  intoxicants.* 

*  The  influence  of  politics  is  more  potent  than  that  of  reformers.  In  oj 
of  our  towns  the  court  refused  licenses  to  five  saloons,  but  a  brewer  who  w 
"  boss  "  of  the  town,  secured  the  vote  of  10  out  of  12  members  in  the  counc 
in  favor  of  granting  the  licenses.  A  committee  of  the  councilmen  waited  ( 
the  judge  and  the  licenses  were  granted. 


-TOTAL  WIDTH  1100  FT. > 

2    S    ?     2     «    {;;    ? 


I  t 


±  p 

F    ST. 
E   8T. 
0   8T. 
C    ST. 

z  5 

^d 

'B    8T. 
'  A  -ST. 

CATAWISSA  ST. 

SECOND  ST. 

S 

^       FIRST  ST. 

t      MAIN  ST. 

I      SECOND  ALLEY 

\      THIRD  ST. 
J 

" 

i 

•'    ^ 

>     THIRD  ALLEY 
rqURTH  ST. 

FOURTH  ALLEY 

1  "n 

FIFTH  ST. 

!? 

FIFTH  ALLEY 

i  o 

SIXTH  ST. 

SIXTH  ALLEY 

<  en 

SEVENTH  ST. 
SEVENTH  ALLEY 

( 

EIGHTH  ST. 

1 

EIGHTH  ALLEY 

NINTH  ST 

!        , 

^     NINTH  ALLEY 

s 


THE   MEN   AT  THE  BAB. 


229 


The  following  table  gives  the  nationality  of  the  vendors  of 
intoxicants  in  the  above  towns,  which  well  illustrates  the  change 
in  the  personnel  of  saloonists  in  the  last  decade  : 


Mahanoy  aty. 

Shenandoah. 

NaUonaUty. 

1890 

1900 

1901 

1890 

1900 

1901 

American 

22 

24 

25 

4 

4 

24 
24 
42 

7 
38 

24 
30 
40 
7 
33 

21 
15 
29 
4 
14 

15 

13 

32 

3 

103 

16 

German 

29 

Irish 

20 

Welsh 

4 

Sclav 

94 

The  Sclavs  are  annually  entering  the  business  in  greater  num- 
bers. The  Court  grants  very  few  new  licenses  to  them.  They 
generally  buy  out  some  English-speaking  saloonist  and  the 
license  is  then  transferred.  In  this  way,  nearly  all  the  saloons 
of  some  wards  in  our  boroughs  have  passed  into  their  hands. 
In  the  first  ward  of  Shenandoah,  out  of  about  50  saloons  only 
three  of  them  are  run  by  English-speaking  proprietors,  and 
out  of  36  saloons  in  the  first  ward  of  Mahanoy  City  only  six 
of  the  proprietors  are  English-speaking.  The  law  of  Penn- 
sylvania is  that  all  vendors  of  intoxicants  must  be  citizens,  so 
that  the  Sclav  must  become  naturalized  before  he  can  sell  in- 
toxicants. 

Towns  in  the  Wyoming  and  Lackawanna  valleys  present 
similar  conditions  if  we  take  into  consideration  that  there  are 
not  so  many  mining  camps  around  these  towns  where  no  in- 
toxicants are  sold  as  there  are  in  Schuylkill  county.  The  fol- 
lowing table  of  six  mining  towns  gives  an  idea  of  the  number 
of  saloons  in  the  Northern  coal  fields. 


Place. 

Population. 

Nanticoke 

12,116 

Plymouth 

13,649 

Edwardsville 

5,665 

Duryea 

5,541 

Olyphant 

6,100 

Dickson  C3ity 

4,948 

Licensed 

Places. 

Persons  per 

1901.    1902. 

1903. 

License  in  1901. 

68      79 

83 

178.1 

80      85 

82 

170.6 

33      35 

33 

156.5 

37      41 

39 

150.0 

37      49 

49 

164.8 

32      42 

45 

154.6 

In  all  these  towns  with  the  exception  of  Duryea,  the  saloons 
depend    upon  local    trade.      Duryea    is   in  a  condition  very 


230 


ANTHRACITE   COAL    COMMUNITIES. 


much  the  same  as  the  towns  of  Mahanoy  City  and  Shei 
andoah,  which  supply  intoxicants  to  small  towns  where  salooi 
are  excluded.  In  Lackawanna  township  which  adjoins  Du 
yea  only  one  licensed  place  is  found  to  562  inhabitants.  I 
the  year  1902  there  was  a  marked  increase  in  the  number  < 
licenses  issued  to  mining  towns  in  the  Northern  coal  field 
The  following  table  for  1902  and  1903  shows  this,  as  well  { 
the  marked  difference  in  the  number  of  licenses  in  varioi 
boroughs. 

Lackawanna  County.  . 


Place. 


Archbald ... 

Blakely 

Carbondale 

Carbondale  Township... 

Dickson  City 

Dunmore 

Fell  Township 

Jermyn 

Lackawanna  Township. 

Mayfield 

Moosic  

Old  Forge 

Olyphant 

Throop 

Ta;jrlor 

Wmton 


Number  of  Licenses. 


1902. 


33 
5 

28 
9 
43 
58 
28 
12 
10 
13 
11 
52 
49 
17 
30 
31 


1903. 


Persons  per  License. 


1902. 


42 

163 

128 

5 

583 

583 

29 

483 

467 

8 

160 

180 

45 

112 

110 

70 

217 

180 

29 

86 

83 

12 

214 

214 

14 

562 

402 

15 

177 

153 

13 

111 

94 

55 

108 

102 

49 

126 

126 

19 

129 

116 

37 

140 

114 

31 

110 

110 

1903. 


Total. 


429 


473 


The  number  of  saloons  to  the  population  on  the  Hazelto 
mountains  is  about  the  same  as  elsewhere  in  the  coal  fields 
although  we  find  the  conditions  met  with  in  Schuylkill  count 
intensified  here,  because  of  the  large  number  of  mining  town 
owned  by  individual  operators  where  no  licensed  places  ar 
found.  The  following  table  gives  the  number  of  saloons  t 
the  population  in  the  places  mentioned  for  the  year  1901 
1902, 1903.  M'Adoo,  mentioned  above,  we  insert  again  for  i 
belongs  to  this  territory. 

If  we  take  the  whole  of  this  territory,  we  have  here  an  aver 
age  of  one  saloon  to  every  160.8  persons.  Under  normal  con 
ditions  of  population  three  fourths  of  these  would  be  womei 
and  children.     Among  the  Sclavs,  however,  a  large  number  o 


THE   MEN   AT   THE    BAR. 


231 


Place 

Popula- 
tfon. 

Licensed  Places. 

Persons  per  License. 

1901. 

1902. 

1903. 

1901. 

1902.        1903. 

Hazleton 

14,230 
2,516 

15,143 
5,254 
2,122 

71 
32 
82 
70 
31 

68 
32 
79 
69 
30 

70 
31 
74 
72 
32 

200.4 
78.6 

184.7 
75.0 
68.4 

209 
78 

191 
76 
70 

203 

West  Hazleton 

81 

Hazel  Township 

204 

Freeland 

73 

M'Adoo 

69 

bachelors  is  found,  so  we  will  be  nearer  the  mark  by  taking 
two  thirds  as  comprising  women  and  children.  By  this  count, 
there  is  a  saloon  on  the  Hazleton  mountains  for  every  53.6 
adult  males. 

The  number  of  saloons  in  towns  situated  in  counties  partly 
controlled  by  the  mine  workers  is  not  so  great  as  the  above. 
In  Lansford,  in  Carbon  county,  there  is  a  license  for  every  275 
persons  but  Summit  Hill  and  Coaldale  are  as  "  wet "  as  any  of 
our  towns ;  in  Forest  City,  in  Susquehanna  county,  there  is  a 
license  for  every  400  persons.  Mt.  Carmel,  in  Northumber- 
land county,  is  under  the  curse  as  badly  as  any  town  ;  it  has  a 
license  for  every  153.2  persons.  In  every  town  throughout 
the  coal  fields  the  aggressive  Sclavs  are  found  in  the  business. 
In  Nanticoke  over  50  per  cent,  of  the  saloons  are  in  their 
hands,  although  they  only  form  about  40  per  cent,  of  the  popu- 
lation ;  in  Edwardsville  the  same  is  true ;  the  same  is  also  true 
of  Mahanoy  City  and  Shenandoah,  and  it  is  also  true  of  the 
towns  where  intoxicants  are  sold  on  the  Hazleton  mountains. 
In  every  instance  the  percentage  of  saloons  held  by  Sclavs  is  in 
excess  of  their  percentage  of  the  population  of  these  towns.  It 
is  possibly  due  in  part  to  the  large  number  of  bachelors  found 
among  them,  but  it  is  also  due  to  the  fact  that  the  only  outlet 
these  people  have  from  the  routine  of  daily  toil  and  the  mo- 
notony of  a  mining  town  is  the  saloon. 

The  following  table  of  the  personnel  of  saloonists  in  Olyphant, 
Lackawanna  county,  well  illustrates  the  change  in  the  last 
twenty  years : 


\ 


Year. 

Number  of 
Licenses. 

Irish. 

Welsh. 

Americans. 

Hebrews. 

Sclavs. 

1880 
1890 
1900 

8 
33 
37 

6 

23 
15 

2 
2 
3 

0 

1 
1 

0 

1 
2 

0 

5 

16 

232  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

We  have  seen  that  the  labor  supply  of  the  future  for  the  an- 
thracite coal  industry  will  largely  come  from  the  Sclavs,  who 
build  themselves  homes  and  raise  families  in  these  communities. 
If  left  to  the  unrestrained  influence  of  the  saloon,  which  to-day 
plays  so  prominent  a  part  in  their  social  and  economic  life, 
what  type  of  worker  will  be  evolved,  upon  whom  will  rest  the 
obligation  of  faithful  and  efficient  workmanship  in  this  risky 
business  of  digging  coal  ?  Indeed,  we  need  not  limit  this  ques- 
tion to  the  Sclav ;  it  applies  to  the  mine  workers  in  general. 
From  the  above  computations  we  see  that  there  is  in  mining 
towns  an  average  of  one  license  to  every  175  inhabitants ;  or 
in  other  words  a  drinking  place  for  every  58  adult  males. 
President  Eliot  has  said  that  government  regulation  is  desira- 
ble to  limit  the  number  of  saloons  to  every  500  or  1,000  in- 
habitants.    Some  such  regulation  is  sadly  needed  here. 

In  the  count  we  include  wholesale  as  well  as  retail  places, 
and  any  one  familiar  with  the  wholesale  liquor  business  as  con- 
ducted in  mining  towns  knows  that  these  houses  do  more  to 
corrupt  the  morals  and  habits  of  mining  camps  than  retail 
saloons  and  restaurants.  The  same  is  true  of  the  bottling  busi- 
ness. It  is  nothing  unusual  to  see  one  of  these  wagons  in  a 
mining  camp  on  pay-day,  doing  a  flourishing  business  and  at 
which  men  and  boys  take  their  drinks.  It  is  nothing  less  than 
a  portable  saloon  which  follows  the  pays,  and  works  an  injury 
which  frustrates  the  laudable  attempt  of  those  who  aim  at 
shutting  out  all  saloons  from  certain  sections  of  the  coal  fields. 
Mine  managers,  in  general,  have  justly  complained  of  the  drink 
habit  among  employees,  and  unless  something  more  is  done  than 
prosecuting  speak-easies  and  violations  of  the  laws  regulating 
Sunday  sales ;  something  more  than  delivering  harangues  on 
the  evils  of  intemperance ;  something  more  than  passing  reso- 
lutions at  public  meetings,  and  signing  pledge-cards,  the  num- 
ber of  saloons  will  still  increase  with  advanced  wages,  and  by 
the  laws  of  heredity  the  rising  generation  will  be  more  deeply 
involved  in  this  curse  than  their  parents,  and  their  economic 
worth  and  social  value  will  depreciate.  For  the  prosperity  of 
the  industry  and  the  well  being  of  our  society,  to  speak  nothing 


THE   MEN   AT   THE   BAR.  233 

of  patriotic  and  religious  motives,  something  practical  should  be 
done  to  reduce  the  number  of  saloons  in  the  anthracite  coal 
fields. 

What  Does  it  Cost  to  Keep  Them  Going? 

The  City  of  Scran  ton  received  $135,000  license  money  this 
year,  which  was  equal  to  $1.32  per  capita  of  population.  The 
boroughs  of  Dickson  and  Olyphant  received  $3,898.44  and 
$3,554.46,  or  79  cents  and  58  cents  per  capita  of  population, 
respectively.  The  money  received  annually  from  licenses  by 
our  mining  towns  and  villages  is  probably  not  far  from  $400,- 
000  all  of  which  must  come  from  the  wages  of  the  toilers. 
But  this  sum  represents  only  a  fraction  of  the  money  spent 
annually  in  the  maintenance  of  saloons.  In  order  to  get  an 
idea  of  what  it  costs  to  keep  alive  this  institution,  which  cor- 
rupts our  youth,  debauches  manhood  and  devours  the  substance 
of  many  families,  the  following  computation  will  be  of  interest : 

In  mining  towns  saloons  rent  for  from  $35  to  $60  a  month. 

The  outfit  necessary  to  carry  on  the  business  amounts  to  from 

$500  to  $800.      A.  license  in  mining  towns,  together  with  the 

lawyer's  fee,  amount  to  $265.     Water  rent   is  about  $40  a 

year.     Ice,  light  and  fuel  will  average  $12.75  a  month.     The 

wear  and  tear  of  pipes,  glasses,  etc.,  will  average  $5  a  month. 

Another  $5  a  month  is  spent  in  inducements  on  pay-days,  such 

as  musicians,  dances,  free  lunch,  etc.     Saloons  are  also  open 

from  early  morning  till  midnight,  and  each  proprietor  must 

engage  the  service  of  a  bartender,  who  generally  gets  $25  a 

month  with  board  and  lodging.     A  hired  girl  must  also  be 

kept,  who  gets  from  $2  to  $3  a  week.     Thus  the  average 

saloonist  finds  his  first  year's  expenses  as  follows  : 

Average  rent $  480 

Average  outfit 600 

License,  etc 265 

Water  rent 40 

Ice,  fuel,  light 150 

Wear  and  tear 60 

Wages  of  bartender  and  domestic 404 

Board    "          "         **          *'        240 

Attractions 60 

Total $2;^ 


234 


ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 


The  running  expenses  of  the  average  saloon  in  mining  towns 
will  be  the  above  less  the  $600  for  outfit.  On  this,  however. 
10  per  cent,  interest  is  expected,  and  the  saloonist  and  hit 
family  must  get  their  living  out  of  the  business,  which  we  esti- 
mate at  $50  a  month.  Hence  the  average  annual  expense  ir 
running  one  of  our  representative  saloons  is  : 

Incidental  expenses $1,768 

Interest  on  capital 60 

Wages  of  saloonkeeper 600 

Total $2,428 

Thus  in  order  that  the  representative  public  house  in  oui 
towns  may  clear  expenses  annually,  the  proprietor  must  make  i 
profit  of  $200  a  month  on  the  commodities  he  sells. 

The  average  monthly  business  done  by  four  saloons  is  giver 
in  the  following  table  : 


Commodities. 


Lager.  .. 

Ale 

Porter..., 
Liquors. 
Cigars... 


Total 


English-Speaking. 


(1)  Sales  per   (2)  Sales  per 
Month.  Month. 


$210 

$195 

130 

168 

14 

25 

85 

35 

60 

25 

$499 


$448 


Sclavs. 


(3)  Sales  per    (4)  Sales  per 
Month.  Month. 


$400 

25 

26 

400 

50 


$140 

0 

10 

55 

10 


$901 


$215 


Saloons  conducted  by  English-speaking  proprietors  in  thes< 
coal  fields  are  more  uniform  as  to  equipment  and  volume  o 
business  than  those  among  Sclavs.  The  two  Sclav  house: 
given  above  represent  the  extremes,  the  English-speaking 
houses  are  typical  saloons  in  mining  towns.  Each  of  th' 
saloons  gave  credit,  and  the  first  lost  in  bad  debts  about  $40  j 
month  ;  the  second,  $25  ;  the  third  about  $50  and  the  fourtl 
$15.  The  profit  of  each  on  lager,  ale  and  porter  was  100  pe 
cent.,  while  on  whisky  and  wines  it  amounted  to  more.  On- 
of  the  men  threw  a  glass  of  whisky  to  a  cuspidor  and  said 
"  There  goes  three  cents  '';  he  charged  ten  cents  for  it.  Gen 
erally  speaking,  saloonists  expect  to  clear  more  than  100  pe 
cent,  on  their  sales.  The  estimated  profits  of  the  above  gen 
tlemen  per  month  was  $245,  $230,  $500  and  $110  respectively 


THE   MEN   AT   THE    BAR.  235 

The  first,  second  and  fourth  confessed  that  all  they  could  do 
was  to  live,  while  the  third  was  making  money.  Number  four 
was  able  to  subsist,  for  he  carried  on  the  business  on  a  small 
scale  in  one  of  the  rooms  of  the  house  which  he  owned,  and 
secured  the  services  of  his  wife  and  children  when  he  could  not 
attend  to  the  bar.  Many  of  these  houses  also  sell  bitters,  have 
lunch  counters  and  gambling  devices.  The  last  mentioned  are 
kept  by  many  "  to  help  pay  the  rent,''  but  the  authorities  of 
our  counties  have  in  recent  years  raided  saloons  having  gamb- 
ling devices,  so  that  they  are  not  so  prevalent  as  once  they  were 
and  those  which  remain  are  kept  in  back  rooms  of  prominent 
hotels  or  transferred  to  places  outside  of  the  city  or  borough 
limits. 

Saloons  doing  strictly  cash  business  are  rare  in  mining  towns. 
Practically  all  of  them  give  "  tick  "  and  the  man  behind  the 
bar  must  watch  his  P's  and  Q's  if  he  expects  to  stay  in  busi- 
ness. If  a  patron  contracts  a  debt  to  the  amount  of  $10,  he  is 
the  object  of  suspicion.  The  "  sticker  "  is  skillful.  He  drinks 
heavily  and  each  month  pays  part  of  what  he  owes.  When  the 
arrears  reach  the  $50  mark  he  makes  a  change  and  opens  an 
account  in  another  saloon. 

Patrons  vary  greatly  in  their  taste  for  drinks  and  in  the 
amount  they  spend  in  saloons.  The  Germans  and  Sclavs  drink 
lager ;  the  English,  ale  ;  the  Welsh,  ale  and  porter ;  the  Irish, 
'^  what's  going,"  and  the  inured  of  all  classes  "  rotten  whisky." 
The  Sclavs  are  the  best  patrons  of  the  saloon.  They  spend 
on  an  average  more  per  month  on  intoxicants  than  the  English- 
speaking,  and  they  pay  their  bills  better.  The  average  monthly 
bill  of  the  former  is  from  $4  to  $5  ;  that  of  the  latter  from  $2  to 
$3.  Many  persons  do  not  spend  more  than  a  dollar  a  month  on 
intoxicants,  while  others  run  a  bill  of  from  $10  to  $15.     In 

*  Adulterated  liquors  have  been  sold  in  these  mining  towns  for  years,  but 
the  Government  has  not  thought  it  its  business  to  interfere.  At  present 
(October,  1903),  however,  there  is  considerable  activity  diplayed  by  the 
"  Dairy  and  Food  Commissioner,"  and  brewers  and  retail  vendors  are  prose- 
cuted. One  of  our  saloonists  complained  to  a  sales  agent  that  his  patrons  did 
not  like  the  whisky  he  last  received.  The  agent  went  to  the  barrel,  drew  a 
viol  from  his  pocket  and  poured  some  of  the  contents  into  the  barrel,  and  the 
whisky  was  then  pronounced  by  the  patrons  "  bully." 


236  ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

our  investigation  the  highest  bill  we  heard  of,  contracted  in  one 
month,  was  $45,  which  the  miner  paid  that  same  month. 

The  experience  of  the  average  saloonist  is  that  from  six  to 
ten  men  among  his  patrons  must  be  watched.  They  are  drunk- 
ards and  he  must  "  shut  down  on  them."  Of  this  class  there 
are  more  Anglo-Saxons  than  Sclavs,  if  counted  according  to 
the  proportion  of  each  to  the  population.  The  saloons  do  busi- 
ness for  seven  days  in  the  week ;  the  front  door  is  used  for  six 
days  and  the  back  door  for  the  seventh.  The  law  of  the  State 
prohibits  selling  on  Sunday,  but  this  is  the  dram-shop's  busy 
day.  Saloonists  say  that  the  trade  is  double  that  of  any  other 
day  save  pay-day.  Lang's  investigations  in  Zurich  and  Hoppe 
in  Berlin  show  that  Sunday  is  the  favorite  day  for  drink.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  our  mining  towns.  On  pay-day  mine 
workers  generally  meet  in  saloons.  In  the  Northern  coal  fields 
the  miner  pays  the  laborer  and  the  saloons  serve  a  useful  pur- 
pose by  accommodating  these  men  with  change.*  This  is  con- 
sidered by  many  to  be  a  practice  which  increases  intemperance, 
but  we  have  seen  that  the  drinking  habit  is  more  prevalent  in 
the  Southern  than  in  the  Northern  fields,  and  saloons  in  Schuyl- 
kill county  have  no  occasion  to  prepare  change  for  the  conveni- 
ence of  their  patrons.  The  fact  is  that  mine  workers  are  in 
the  habit  of  frequenting  saloons  and,  change  or  no  change,  they 
will  go  there. 

The  character  of  the  saloon  depends  upon  the  man.  in  charge. 
Some  of  them  are  embodiments  of  all  that  is  vicious  and  de- 
grading, while  others  put  a  little  conscience  into  the  business. 
Some  flourish  by  enticing  youths  to  their  infamous  dens  by 
allurements  which  kill  both  body  and  soul ;  others  keep  *^  re- 
spectable "  houses,  but  scruple  not  to  sell  both  on  Sunday  and 
to  minors.  One  of  this  latter  class  was  asked  what  were  the 
means  whereby  he  held  his  trade?  His  answer  was,  "I  keej 
good  stuff,  give  good  measure,  keep  a  clean  place  and  sell  oi 
tick." 

*  The  coal  companies  in  the  Northern  coal  fields,  since  last  April,  pay  th< 
miners'  laborers  at  the  office,  according  to  the  recommendation  of  the  Anthra 
cite  Coal  Strike  Commission. 


THE   MEN   AT  THE   BAR.  237 

Charles  Gide  says  :  "  in  the  department  of  the  Nord,  one 
drink  shop  is  reckoned  for  46  persons,  and  as  out  of  these  46 
inhabitants  three  fourths  are  women  and  children  that  leaves 
one  public  house  for  every  twelve  men.''  Bad  as  the  drinking 
habit  is  in  mining  towns,  we  find  nothing  to  compare  with  that. 
Dipsomania  is  on  the  increase,  however,  for  there  is  little  to 
prevent  it.  The  competition  between  saloonists  is  intense  and 
as  a  class  these  men  are  bent  on  making  money,  and  many  of 
them  adopt  devilish  schemes  to  swell  their  ill-gotten  gains. 
Given  a  body  of  unscrupulous  men  bent  on  money-making  and 
a  community  exempt  of  all  other  means  and  appliances  to 
meet  the  people's  desire  for  social  amusement  and  recreation, 
what  is  there  to  stop  a  development  of  the  taste  for  strong  drink 
and  an  impoverishing  of  the  people,  so  that  we  will  each  year 
approach  nearer  the  Department  of  the  Nord  standard  ? 

There  are  2,974  licensed  places  in  Lackawanna,  Luzerne 
and  Schuylkill  counties.  In  the  whole  of  the  anthracite  coal 
fields  there  are  over  3,000.  From  the  above  calculation  of  the 
income  of  typical  saloons  in  mining  towns  we  saw  it  was  about 
$400  a  month.  If  we  put  down  their  average  sales  at  $300  a 
month,  which  would  hardly  keep  them  alive,  we  will  have  the 
sum  of  $900,000  a  month  or  $10,800,000  a  year  spent  in  the 
saloons  of  the  anthracite  coal  fields.  Of  course,  this  enormous 
sum  is  not  spent  by  mine  workers  only,  for  as  Lawyer  C.  S. 
Darrow  said  before  the  Coal  Strike  Commission,  lawyers,  doc- 
tors, ministers,  business  men,  politicians,  etc.,  drink  some  of  the 
stuff.  If  one  third  were  consumed  by  these  classes  that  would 
leave  about  $7,200,000  as  the  share  of  mine  workers,  which 
would  be  about  $4  a  month  or  $48  a  year  per  capita  of  mine 
employees.  This  sum  is  about  one  eighth  of  the  wages  of  mine 
workers.  Hoppe  says  wage  earners  spend  on  an  average  one 
tenth  of  their  income,  so  that  the  proportion  spent  by  anthracite 
coal  workers  is  in  excess  of  the  average. 

Are  the  Mine  Workers  to  be  Blamed? 
College,  university  and  social  settlements  have  taught  us  that 
wherever  concerts  and  lectures,  gymnasiums  and  amusements, 


238  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

instruction  and  kindergartens  are  established,  an  insensible 
taste  for  better  things  is  given  the  community,  and  with  this 
comes  the  desire  for  better  home  life,  for  better  dwellings  and 
for  amusements  of  a  refined  and  elevated  nature.  They  have 
also  taught  us  that  the  work  can  only  be  accomplished  by  per- 
sonal influence,  and  that  the  working  man  cannot  be  lifted  above 
his  present  surroundings  to  a  more  wholesome  and  healthful  in- 
fluence until  public  interest  in  the  work  is  aroused  and  assis- 
tance given  all  reasonable  attempts  at  reform.  We  are  con- 
vinced that  this  is  true  of  the  anthracite  coal  fields.  The 
saloon  can  only  be  taken  out  of  the  life  of  our  people  by  the 
expulsive  power  of  better  things  in  the  hands  of  capable  and 
moral  men,  who  will  arouse  public  interest  in  and  get  financial 
support  for  the  work.  It  is  absurd  to  say  that  the  saloon  does 
not  meet  a  social  need  among  our  people.  An  institution  that 
secures  the  patronage  of  80  per  cent,  of  the  adult  male  popu- 
lation of  the  mining  regions  is  the  most  popular  of  all  institu- 
tions. It  is  better  patronized  than  the  church,  the  theatre,  the 
dancing  class,  or  technical  instruction  and  general  culture.  It 
consumes  more  of  the  wealth  of  the  people  than  our  educa- 
tional system  and  has  a  firmer  hold  upon  them  than  either  the 
press  or  politics.  The  attempt  made  in  1888  to  bring  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania  into  line  with  other  states  of  the  Union,  where 
the  sale  of  intoxicants  is  prohibited,  was  overwhelmingly  de- 
feated, and  in  no  part  of  the  commonwealth  was  the  vote  for 
the  dram-shop  more  pronounced  than  in  these  coal  fields. 
Temperance  sentiment  has  not  increased  in  the  last  fourteen 
years.  The  saloon  is  a  greater  power  to-day  in  the  anthracite 
coal  fields  than  ever  before  and  a  Van  Dyke  bill  *  will  not  check 
its  growth  or  power.  It  may  result  in  driving  the  saloon  from 
certain  wards  in  our  cities  and  boroughs,  and  then  wherever  the 
attempt  is  made  we  will  see  the  conditions  which  prevail  in 
Duryea,  New  Philadelphia,  Freeland  and  M'Adoo  multiplied. 
There  are  wards  in  our  larger  towns  that  are  accursed  plague 

*  This  bill,  introduced  in  the  last  legislature,  was  to  give  wards  in  cities 
and  boroughs  the  right  to  shut  out  the  saloon  if  the  majority  of  the  electors 
voted  to  do  so. 


THE  MEN   AT  THE  BAR.  239 

spots ;  drive  more  saloons  into  these  places  and  their  pestiferous 
and  poisonous  character  will  be  intensified.  The  menace  to 
our  society  does  not  come  from  wards  where  the  sober  and 
industrious  live  and  where  the  saloons  are  few  in  number,  but 
from  wards  where  the  people  are  hopelessly  given  over  to  the 
worship  of  Bacchus.  In  these  quarters  the  sweeping  must  be 
done  and  what  will  Van  Dyke  bills  be  able  to  do  for  them  ? 

We  believe  in  legislative  interference  where  it  can  do  some 
good,  but  those  who  have  watched  the  effect  of  legislative 
enactments  far  in  advance  of  public  sentiment,  know  that  they 
work  far  more  evil  than  good.  Take  the  laws  forbidding  the 
sale  of  intoxicants  on  Sunday  and  election  days.  They  are 
only  observed  when  a  league  of  respectable  citizens  gets  on  the 
war  path,  and,  as  soon  as  the  wave  of  reform  has  spent  itself, 
the  evil  rushes  on  with  greater  violence  because  of  the  temporary 
crusade  instituted.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Government  to  put 
all  possible  obstacles  in  the  way  of  its  citizens  spending  their 
strength  in  the  production  and  consumption  of  articles  of 
negative  utility,  and  to  encourage  them  to  produce  and  consume 
those  of  positive  utility.  The  more  wheat,  vegetables  and 
meat  the  people  produce  and  consume  the  better  they  are,  and 
the  less  whisky,  wine  and  beer  they  produce  and  consume, 
the  more  intense  will  be  their  physical,  intellectual  and  moral 
life.  But  direct  governmental  interference  will  not  effect  this. 
It  can  only  come  when  the  people  feel  and  know  that  whisky 
is  not  as  good  as  bread,  and  when  they  will  have  the  moral 
power  to  demand  the  one  and  reject  the  other.  If  we  give 
attention  to  instructing  the  people,  to  providing  them  with 
proper  appliances  to  meet  their  social  instinct,  to  educating  the 
young  in  self-control  and  self-respect,  legislation  will  take  care 
of  itself.  Unless  the  people  are  taught  self-help  and  the 
individual  is  set  right,  legislative  tinkering  will  effect  nothing. 

Loud  protestations  have  been  heard  from  capitalists  and 
entrepreneurs  regarding  the  frightful  waste  of  wages  among 
mine  workers  who  frequent  saloons.  It  is  said  if  they  spent 
less  in  saloons  they  would  have  more  in  their  homes.  True. 
But  who  are  the  men  who  throw  stones  ?     We  have  seen  that 


240  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

an  average  of  $4  per  month  per  capita  of  mine  workers  is  speni 
in  saloons  in  purely  mining  towns ;  that  amounts  to  about  12 
cents  a  day  —  not  a  big  sum  to  spend   in  luxury  and  it  dosi 
not  go  far  even  in  saloons  where  "  all  drinks,  5  cents  "  is  ad- 
vertised.    How  much  do  the  censors  spend  in  cigars  every  day 
how  much  in  drinks,  and  how  much  in  festivals  at  $10  a  plate' 
Lilienfeld  has  said  that  society  suffers  because  of  hyperemij 
in  one  part  and  anemia  in  the  other.     Is  not  this  true  of  thos< 
directly  interested  in  the  production  of  coal?     When  coal  i 
sold  at  tide-water  for  from  |4.50  to  $5  a  ton  under  norma 
conditions,  of  which  about  $1  is  doled  out  as  the  mine  laborers 
share,  is  it  strange  that  mine  workers  complain  of  an  unequa 
distribution  of  productive  wealth,  and  regard  the  cry  of  "  wast 
among  the  working  classes  "  from  the  lips  of  capitalists  as  th 
most  Pharisaic    utterance  of  the  age?     In  a  country  wher 
twice  as  much  is  spent  annually  for  drinks  as  for  bread,  th 
working  classes  are  not  slow  to  learn  that  the  larger  percentag 
of  the  drinks  goes  to  the  other  fellow.     Every  class  of  society 
whose  physical  and  mental  activity  is  intense,  demands  relaxa 
tion  and  diversion.     Our  people  cannot  afford  a  trip  to  th 
city  in  midwinter  and  to  the  seashore  in  midsummer;  thei 
taste  for  grand  operas  and  Shakesperean  plays  has  never  bee 
cultivated ;  they  know  not  what  the  beauties  of  art  and  litera 
ture  mean  ;  is  it  strange  then  that  they  find  their  chief  pleasur 
in  the  pipe  and  the  cup?     Surely,  in  the  absence  of  all  othe 
sources  of  pleasure  and  amusement,  the  censors  ought  not  t 
begrudge  these  people  a  sip  at  the  fountain  of  luxury  at  the  rat 
of  13  cents  a  day.     There  is  no  danger  that  this  rate  of  luxu 
rious  consumption  will  wreck  society.     The  real  danger  to  ou 
civilization  comes  from  the  regal  extravagance  of  the  censon 
who  vulgarly  display  their  riches  in  mansions,  cottages,  etc 
which  the  anemic  part  of  society  views  with  invidious  eyes  an 
cannot  understand  why  a  little  more  of  the  good  things  of  li] 
does  not  come  its  way. 

Goethe  said  :  "  I  hate  luxury,  for  it  destroys  the  fancy. 
Cannot  we  with  propriety  extend  this  and  say :  "  I  hate  luxur 
for  it  destroys  society  ?  "     Jhering  has  compared  the  desire  f( 


THE   MEN   AT   THE    BAR.  241 

luxury  to  a  steeple-chase  in  which  the  vanities  of  the  social 
classes  run.  Luxury  is  contagious.  The  working  classes  by 
the  law  of  imitation  follow  the  pace  set  by  the  rich  and,  under 
the  pressure  exerted  by  a  rising  standard  of  living,  many  sons 
and  daughters  of  the  working  classes  are  made  miserable,  and 
society  is  shaken  with  periodical  cataclasms  which  are  ominous. 
Every  class  in  the  social  hierarchy,  under  the  pressure  of  a 
rising  standard  of  living,  extends  the  sphere  of  its  felt  wants 
according  to  its  taste,  and  among  a  large  number  of  mine 
workers  it  takes  the  form  of  greater  sensual  enjoyments.  Nitti 
says :  "  The  lower  the  economic  situation  and  moral  sentiments 
of  the  popular  classes,  the  more  are  they  carried  to  pleasures 
that  are  sensual  and  prolification  is  more  irregular  and  abun- 
dant.'' The  number  of  saloons  in  our  territory  is  not  the  cause 
of  the  drinking  habit  among  our  people ;  rather  the  disposition 
to  drunkenness  among  the  people  is  the  cause  for  the  number 
of  saloons,  and  the  taste  for  drink  grows  because  of  the  growing 
desire  for  enjoyments  which  now-a-days  carries  all  social  classes 
to  extremes.  Where  means  are  limited,  as  they  are  always 
among  the  working  classes,  the  people  are  led  to  luxury  at  the 
expense  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  the  effect  upon  the 
worker  is  relaxation  of  energies  and  morals  and  the  production 
of  general  effeminacy.  In  this  a  change  must  come,  either  by 
the  voluntary  self-abnegation  of  the  leaders  of  the  industrial 
world,  who,  to  avoid  impending  ruin,  will  rise  to  the  altruistic 
type  of  individualism  whose  ideal  is  "  to  serve  and  not  to  be 
served,"  or  by  the  action  of  economic  and  moral  laws  which 
can  ruthlessly  tear  down  the  proudest  social  structure  and 
involve  a  nation  in  hopeless  disaster. 

The  vast  majority  of  mine  employees  are  industrious,  and  al- 
though they  frequent  saloons  either  for  social  purposes  or  to 
quench  their  thirst,  they  neither  neglect  their  homes  nor  their 
families.  There  are  many  confirmed  drunkards  in  our  towns 
and  villages  —  men  dead  to  all  paternal  and  marital  obliga- 
tions, and  slaves  of  a  depraved  appetite.  They  have  fallen  to 
the  condition  of  the  natives  in  German  colonies,  who  will  only 
put  forth  real  effort  in  labor  for  whisky  and  tobacco.  They 
17 


242  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

are  the  dissolute  and  disorderly,  the  idle  and  the  vicious,  who 
indulge  in  the  use  of  intoxicants  regardless  of  the  distress 
which  their  indulgence  brings  upon  their  families.  They  not 
only  spend  money  in  drink  but  also  lose  time  because  of  it. 
These  men  are  found  in  almost  every  colliery  throughout  the 
coal  fields,  unless  they  have  fallen  so  low  as  to  give  up  work- 
ing and  live  wholly  by  charity.  What  to  do  with  this  class 
deserves  the  attention  of  society.  They  are  the  victims  partly 
of  their  own  enervated  will  and  partly  of  the  environment  in 
which  they  have  grown.  Society  cannot  shirk  its  part  of  the 
responsibility  and  it  should  provide  for  these  confirmed  drun- 
kards who  bring  so  much  misery  upon  themselves  and  their 
families.  They  are  wholly  unfit  to  stand  alone  and,  as  long  as 
social  conditions  produce  this  type  of  men  and  women,'a  special 
institution  should  be  maintained  at  public  expense,  where  they 
could  be  removed  from  temptation. 

All  the  Sclavs  patronize  the  saloons.  It  is  nothing  unusual 
to  see  both  women  and  men  of  the  Sclav  races  taking  their  so- 
cial glass  in  public  houses.  The  Poles,  addicted  to  drink  in 
their  native  country,  keep  up  the  practice  here.  They  are  con- 
sidered the  heaviest  drinkers  in  the  coal  fields. 

In  many  of  these  saloons  are  found  clubs  where  the  work- 
men meet  for  the  discussion  of  the  questions  of  the  day. 
Bagehot  said  that  common  discussion  of  common  actions  and 
common  interests  becomes  the  root  of  change  and  progress. 
The  saloons  in  these  coal  fields  afford  better  opportunity  for 
this  than  any  other  institution.  The  men  are  shy  of  a  chapel 
and  will  not  assemble  there.  The  prayer-meeting  atmosphere 
or  Sunday-school  discipline  restricts  their  freedom  and  they 
will  not  meet  where  these  are  wont  to  be  held.  They  are  freer 
when  they  can  smoke  and  quaff  the  bowl.  The  danger  is  that 
men  in  an  atmosphere  of  dissipation  and  revelry  will  not  be 
equal  or  disposed  to  the  painful  effort  which  is  often  needed  in 
order  to  arrive  at  ideas  and  principles  that  are  beneficial  to 
both  the  individual  and  society.  If  the  atmosphere  of  a  chapel 
is  too  restraining,  that  of  a  saloon  is  too  relaxative.  In  the 
saloon,  men  are  apt  to  seek  that  which  is  momentary  in  its  effect 
and  lose  sight  of  those  immutable  laws  upon  which  society  rests. 


THE   MEN   AT  THE   BAR.  243 

"Workers  in  lead  mines  are  insensibly  poisoned  by  daily  infu- 
sion of  small  quantities  of  lead  into  their  system  which  do  not 
kill  at  once,  but  which  produce  physical  disorders  and  ulti- 
mately death.  Our  men,  who  are  forced  to  gratify  their  social 
instinct  in  the  environment  of  a  saloon,  are  subject  to  influences 
which  insidiously  bring  intellectual  and  moral  disorders.  If 
discussion  is  to  lead  to  change  and  progress,  an  atmosphere 
must  be  created  more  favorable  to  calm  treatment  of  the  eco- 
nomic and  moral  interests  of  the  working  classes.  There  are 
deeper  needs  and  more  urgent  wants  than  an  increase  in  wages 
and  a  larger  share  in  the  pleasures  and  leisure  of  life,  but  the 
saloon,  which  lives  by  selling  that  which  gives  momentary 
gratification,  will  never  be  the  means  by  which  these  profounder 
realities  of  life  will  be  fathomed  by  our  workers. 

Higher  wages  and  shorter  hours  are  not  necessarily  synony- 
mous with  improved  economic  and  social  conditions  among  the 
working  classes.  If  they  are  accompanied  by  a  moral  and  in- 
tellectual degeneracy  they  will  only  accelerate  retrogression. 
Wages  spent  in  beer  rather  than  bread,  in  whisky  rather  than 
clothes,  in  vaudeville  rather  than  culture,  in  exciting  romances 
rather  than  works  of  art,  will  result  in  deeper  misery  and  in- 
efficiency among  the  wage  earners.  If  greater  leisure  is  spent 
in  saloons,  or  on  the  street  corners,  or  in  cock-fighting, 
or  at  the  slot-machine,  or  at  cards,  what  will  it  benefit  the 
workers?  Higher  wages  and  shorter  hours  will  benefit  our 
people  only  when  opportunities  of  culture  and  amusement  will 
be  given  them,  far  removed  from  the  influence  of  saloons,  and 
when  a  degree  of  intelligence  and  self-respect  among  the  work- 
ers themselves  will  convince  them  that  the  thirst  for  intoxicants 
is  one  of  the  greatest  enemies  to  social  and  economic  well  being. 
Well  may  the  words  of  the  prophet  of  Chelsea  Hill  be  ad- 
dressed to  our  people :  "  No  man  oppresses  thee,  O  free  and 
independent  franchiser,  but  does  not  this  pewter  pot  oppress 
thee  ?  No  son  of  Adam  can  bid  thee  come  and  go,  but  this 
absurb  pot  of  heavy-wet  can  and  does.  Thou  art  the  thrall  not 
of  Cedric  the  Saxon,  but  of  thy  own  brutal  appetites  and  this 
accursed  dish  of  liquor.  And  thou  pratest  of  thy  '  liberty ' 
thou  entire  blockhead." 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

THOSE  WHO  SAVE  MONEY. 

1.  The  Banks  AND  THE  Cash  Deposits.  2.  The  "  Building  and  Loan.' 
3.  Organizations  for  Sick  Benefits.  4.  Insurance  Against  Min 
Accidents.  

The  Banks  and  the  Cash  Deposits. 

An  entrepreneur  of  wide  experience  once  said :    "  The  su 
preme  folly  of  a  strike  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  there  is  seldom  o 
ever  a  rich  workman  at  the  head  of  it."     In  the  strikes  of  190' 
and  1902  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields,  the  men  who  sufferc 
most  were  the  thrifty  and  industrious,  and  with  rare  excep 
tions  they  deprecated  the  conflict  in  which  they  were  engagec 
A  German  forced  to  draw  on  his  bank  account,  was  heard  t 
say  each  time  :    "There's  $10  thrown  away/'     The  man  wh 
has  a  bank  account  is  more  conservative  than  the  shiftless  wh 
has  nothing,  and  one  would  reasonably  expect  employers  t 
look  with  favor  upon  their  employees  who  try  to  save  and  offe 
them  all  possible  appliances  to  do  so.     Bankers  in  these  coj 
fields  testify  that,  during  the  last  strikes,  the  mine  workin 
depositors  drew  their  savings  with  great  reluctance,  and  invj 
riably  it  was  done  under  stress  of  want.     The  truth  is  that 
bank  account  is  a  guarantee  to  the  employer  of  good  conduc 
steady  service  and  conservative  action  in  time  of  industrij 
friction.     Some  workingmen  also  feel  that  they  must  secrei 
their  savings  where  their  employer  will  know  nothing  of  then 
for  they  think  that  their  wages  will  be  reduced  if  the  employe 
finds  out  they  save  money.     All  this  is  due  as  much  to  lack  < 
confidence  between  employer  and  employee  as  to  the  lack  of  ii 
telligent  views   concerning   the  value  of  moral    qualities    i 
industrial  classes.     Workingmen  as  a  rule  know  nothing  of  tl 
financial   world ;    their  employers   do.     The   language  of  tl 
money  market   is  an   unknown   tongue  to   the  average   mil 

244 


THOSE   WHO   SAVE   MONEY.  245 

worker,  but  his  employer  is  conversant  with  it.  Is  there  not 
here  a  sphere  where  the  capitalists  may  render  good  service  to 
their  laborers  ?  If  simple  lessons  were  given  mine  workers  in 
money,  its  nature,  its  value,  its  use,  etc.,  many  of  them  would 
possibly  be  induced  to  save  and  try  by  experiment  to  verify 
the  instruction  imparted  to  them. 

Thrift  must  be  taught,  and  the  sooner  the  lesson  is  inculcated, 
the  better.  It  should  be  taught  the  child  in  the  schools  by 
instituting  school  savings  banks.  They  are  much  needed. 
One  of  the  most  prevalent  evils  among  our  people  is  improvi- 
dence, and  society  will  be  strengthened  if,  by  any  system,  the 
youths  can  be  taught  to  economize.  Children  raised  in  homes 
where  parents  spend  their  spare  cash  in  momentary  gratifica- 
tion of  appetite  must  be  taught  economic  foresight.  This  is 
the  reason  why  we  have  so  many  thriftless  young  people  in  our 
towns.  If  the  public  schools,  by  the  simple  method  of  the 
school  savings  banks,  come  to  the  aid  of  these  children,  they 
will  be  far  more  efficiently  prepared  for  the  duties  of  life  than 
if  they  enter  upon  them  equipped  only  with  theoretic  knowl- 
edge. 

In  the  anthracite  coal  fields,  outside  the  city  of  Scranton, 
this  beneficent  institution  is  not  found.  The  system  was 
adopted  in  the  above  city  in  the  year  1897.  It  was  first 
established  in  one  of  the  schools  and,  during  the  year,  five 
others  adopted  it.  At  the  close  of  the  year  $950  had  been 
received  in  deposits  from  the  children.  One  of  the  rules 
governing  the  institution  is  that  the  children  must  in  some  way 
earn  the  money  which  is  deposited.  The  teacher,  each  Monday 
morning,  gives  ten  minutes  time  to  receive  deposits.  These 
range  from  one  cent  up,  and  when  a  pupiPs  account  reaches  a 
dollar,  he  receives  a  bank-book  from  the  bank  where  the  money 
is  deposited.  At  the  close  of  the  year  the  superintendent  who 
introduced  the  system  in  the  above  schools  said  :  "  There  is  no 
tendency  toward  injurious  rivalry  among  the  pupils  and  no 
interruption  of  school  work."  At  present,  largely  because  of 
the  strike  of  1902,  there  are  only  two  schools  in  the  city  con- 
tinuing the  system. 


246  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

In  our  discussion  of  the  boys  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  w< 
saw  what  is  the  custom  among  them  on  pay-night.  All  th< 
money  they  get  is  "  blown  in  "  that  evening.  It  is  pure  dissi 
pation.  One  of  the  store-keepers  who  sold  to  the  small  boyi 
of  a  mining  town  of  6,000  population  said,  that  he  took  in  ai 
high  as  a  thousand  dollars  a  month  when  the  mines  were  work 
ing  regularly.  The  practice  among  girls  is  the  very  same 
They  take  their  pennies,  nickels  and  dimes  and  spend  then 
immediately  in  self-indulgence.  A  population  that  is  thuj 
from  its  youth  accustomed  to  spending  all  upon  the  momentarj 
gratification  of  appetite,  will  not  learn  the  blessings  of  self-re- 
nunciation which  is  the  foundation  of  strong  manhood.  Minen 
are  indulgent  to  their  children  and  the  money  spent  on  sweets, 
soft  drinks,  peanuts,  and  ice  cream  by  the  youths  of  the  anthra- 
cite coal  fields  is  over  $75,000  annually.  Here  then  is  a 
promising  field  for  teachers  in  public  schools,  for  pastors  and 
priests,  to  work  in.  Let  the  youths  be  taught  that  the  practice 
of  economizing  fosters  self-denial,  strengthens  character  and 
produces  a  well-regulated  mind.  Thrift  is  based  on  fore- 
thought which  is  the  one  thing  necessary  to  foster  economic 
foresight;  it  makes  the  work  of  temperance  comparatively 
easy  and  prudence  becomes  the  dominating  characteristic  in 
life ;  it  builds  a  barricade  against  vexations  and  anxieties 
which  harass  and  perplex  and  secures  comfort  when  declining 
years  come ;  it  drives  away  care  and  gives  virtue  the  mastery 
over  self-indulgence.  These  are  blessings  which  are  sadly 
needed  in  the  life  of  our  people  and  secular  teachers  and  spiritual 
leaders  cannot  be  engaged  in  better  work  than  in  inculcating 
these  virtues  in  the  rising  generation.  The  school  savings 
bank  is  one  of  the  best  means  devised  for  this  purpose,  for 
charitable  organizations,  which  in  some  cities  do  admirable  work 
in  this  respect,  have  not  commenced  work  of  this  kind  in  the 
coal  fields.  Returns  from  schools  where  the  savings  bank 
system  is  practiced,  show  that  two  fifths  of  the  pupils  become 
depositors.  In  the  city  of  Scranton  60  per  cent,  of  the  pupils 
were  depositors.  The  system  should  be  introduced  in  all  our 
schools. 


THOSE   WHO  SAVE   MONEY.  247 

The  anthracite  coal  fields  are  also  very  poorly  provided  with 
means  whereby  the  adult,  who  desires  to  save  the  few  dollars 
which  remain  after  his  monthly  bills  are  paid,  can  put  his  cash 
in  safe  keeping.  We  have  many  banks  in  our  territory,  but 
these  are  invariably  located  in  towns  and  cities,  far  removed 
from  mining  villages  where  the  majority  of  our  people  lives.  It 
is  nothing  unusual  to  find  strong  iron  rods  fastened  across  the 
windows  of  dwellings  in  mining  camps,  which  resemble  the 
windows  of  prisons  and  banks,  and  they  serve  exactly  the  same 
purpose  as  bars  and  bolts  do  in  banking  establishments.  The 
tenants  are  paid  every  two  weeks  and  they  stow  away  their 
spare  money  in  trunks  or  drawers,  and  the  iron  bars  are  for 
the  purpose  of  keeping  out  thieves  who  have  often  stolen  money 
from  these  homes.  Sclav  bachelors  generally  keep  their  money 
in  the  house  and  instances  are  not  rare  when  villains  have 
stolen  trunks,  carried  them  to  the  brush,  rifled  them  and 
pocketed  the  money  they  found.  In  the  neighborhood  of 
Shenandoah,  a  gang  of  thieves  preyed  upon  the  houses  of  min- 
ing patches  for  years  and  many  were  the  victims  of  their  raids. 
One  mine  foreman  lost  over  $900  in  one  night.  It  is  foolish 
to  keep  such  an  amount  of  money  in  the  home,  but  we  must 
remember  that  these  men  live  far  away  from  banking  conveni- 
ences and  work  seven  days  in  the  week.  The  wives  also  are 
busy  and  cannot  go  to  town.  When  the  men  come  to  town  it 
is  generally  in  the  evening  and  then  the  banks  are  closed  and 
the  saloons  are  wide  open. 

Many  of  our  people  are  thrifty  and  save  a  part  of  their 
wages.  Many  more  could  do  so  if  facilities  were  given  them 
safely  to  deposit  their  spare  dollars  and  provide  for  possible 
contingencies.  If  such  conveniences  were  instituted  we  are 
sure  that  much  of  the  money  now  spent  uselessly  would  be 
saved  and  sobriety  would  be  greatly  increased  among  the  em- 
ployees. The  multiplicity  of  saloons  is  now  one  of  the  chief 
causes  of  thriftlessness  among  our  people,  and  the  antidote  is 
the  multiplicity  of  savings  institutions. 

Every  one  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  working  classes 
cannot  but  regret  the  failure  of  Mr.  John  Wanamaker,  when 


248  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

Postmaster-General  of  the  United  States,  to  introduce  the  Post- 
Office  Savings  Banks  Institution.  The  banking  interests  of  the 
country  opposed  the  movement  and  showed  clearly  that  pecu- 
niary interest  is  stronger  than  patriotic  sentiment.  One  thing 
the  rich  must  learn,  namely,  that  the  tenure  of  their  enjoyment 
of  the  wealth  they  possess  depends  upon  the  distribution  of 
riches  among  all  classes  in  the  social  hierarchy.  Extreme 
poverty  among  the  masses  and  superfluous  riches  in  the  hands  of 
the  few,  will  inevitably  result  in  ruin.  The  rich  owe  it  to 
themselves  and  to  their  country  to  give  all  possible  encourage- 
ment and  opportunities  to  the  working  classes  to  save,  and  the 
Post-Office  Savings  Bank  is  one  of  the  best  instruments  for 
this  purpose.  These  would  afford  the  people  a  savings  institution 
that  would  be  open  as  long  as  the  post-office  is,  generally  from 
7  a.  m.  to  7  p.  m.  The  security  given  the  workingmen  would 
be  equal  to  that  of  the  Government,  and  the  depositor  would 
be  able  to  get  his  money  in  any  part  of  the  United  States,  re- 
gardless of  the  place  where  he  deposited  it.  It  is  not  to 
America's  honor  that  she  and  Germany  are  conspicuous  ex- 
amples among  the  civilized  nations  of  the  earth  in  not  provid- 
ing this  means  of  saving  for  their  working  classes. 

The  need  of  such  an  institution  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields 
is  apparent  from  the  accompanying  map,  which  shows  the  loca- 
tion of  towns  in  which  banks  are  found,  and  also  towns  and  vil- 
lages where  no  opportunity  is  afforded  the  mine  workers  to 
save.  From  Forest  City,  in  Susquehanna  county,  to  Scranton, 
a  distance  of  thirty  miles  and  where  60,000  persons  live,  the 
only  towns  in  which  savings  banks  are  instituted  are  the 
above-mentioned  ones  and  Carbondale.  Another  bank  has 
been  opened  this  year  in  Olyphant.  From  Scranton  to  Pitts- 
ton,  a  distance  of  ten  miles,  where  25,000  persons  live,  there  is 
no  bank,  and  from  Pittston  to  Wilkesbarre,  another  ten  miles, 
having  a  population  of  31,000,  there  is  no  bank.  On  the 
Hazleton  mountains,  the  only  two  towns  having  banks  are 
Hazleton  and  Freeland,  while  around  these  are  populous  mining 
camps.  In  Schuylkill  coimty,  outside  Pottsville,  Tamaqua, 
Mahanoy  City,  Shenandoah  and  Minersville,  there  is  no  bank 


IP  OF  Coal  Fieij)s  Showing  Towns  With  and  Without  Savings  Banks. 
Towns  marked  (x)  have  Savings  Banks  in  them. 


THOSE   WHO   SAVE    MONEY.  261 

in  the  mining  districts.  In  all  mining  towns  there  are  post- 
offices,  and  if  in  connection  with  these  savings  banks  could  be 
established,  it  would  afford  the  man  with  a  few  dollars  to  spare, 
the  opportunity  of  saving  them.  There  are  no  post-office  sav- 
ings banks,  however,  and  no  likelihood  that  they  will  be  soon 
established.  Some  individuals  in  mining  towns  conduct  pri- 
vate banking.  In  the  absence  of  an  institution  which  would  fur- 
nish reasonable  safety  to  the  savings  of  workingmen,  could  not 
our  mining  corporations  devise  a  scheme  whereby  the  employees 
could  be  aided  in  an  effort  to  lay  something  by  for  old  age  ? 

The  banks  which  are  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  reflect  the 
general  financial  condition  of  our  territory.  A  banker,  in  his 
fifties,  who  had  spent  his  days  in  the  banking  business,  said : 
"  I  would  prefer  to  start  a  bank  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  to 
any  other  section.  It's  choice  territory.  There's  lots  of  money  \ 
circulating.''  The  deposits  in  the  banks  show  this,  the  major  \ 
part  of  which  represents  the  savings  of  mine  employees. 

There  are  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  54  banks,  18  of  which  •' 
are  in  the  cities  of  Scranton  and  Wilkesbarre.  The  total  de- 
posits in  these  banks,  according  to  the  reports  issued  January, 
1902,  were  $50,164,728.56,  which  was  9.2  per  cent,  of  the 
total  deposits  in  the  banks  of  the  State  and  which  approaches 
very  nearly  the  percentage  of  population  of  the  State  in  the 
anthracite  coal  fields,  which  is  9.8.  The  deposits  in  all 
the  banks  of  the  State  amounted  to  $86.52  per  capita  of 
population ;  that  of  the  banks  in  our  territory  to  $79.62  per 
capita.  In  the  cities  of  Scranton  and  Wilkesbarre  the  deposits 
amounted  to  $178.45  and  $229.64  per  capita  respectively. 
Outside  these  two  cities,  there  were  36  banks  which  had  on 
deposit  an  amount  equal  to  $66.28  per  capita  of  population. 
Of  course,  all  the  deposits  in  our  territory  do  not  belong  to 
the  mine  workers.  Many  bankers  put  their  share  at  50  per 
cent,  of  the  whole.  We  will  probably  be  nearer  if  we  put  it 
at  45  per  cent.  This  would  leave  to  each  mine  employee  in 
the  anthracite  industry  $152.85. 

There  is  a  great  difference  in  the  total  deposits  in  banks  in 
mining  towns  when  computed  in  per  capita  sums  of  their  popu- 


252  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

lation.     The  following  table  gives  the  per  capita  amount : 
the  banks  of  anthracite  mining  towns. 

Place.  Deposits  per         Place.  Deposits  per 

Capita.  Capita. 

Lykens $  91.45  Carbondale $188.93 

Williamstown 29.96  Pottsville 213.09 

Mt.  Carmel 46.13  Pittston 168.00 

MahanoyCity 62.17  Hazleton 268.27 

Nanticoke 24.29 

Plymouth 19.78  Agricultural  Boroughs. 

Shamokin 73.87  Indiana $237.67 

Shenandoah 38.29  Mifflinburg 68.23 

Forest  City 5.78  Middleton 47.71 

Minersville 55.93  White  Haven 178.82 

Lansford 16.73 

Freeland 89.84  Bituminous  Boroughs. 

Ashland 70.71  Du  Bois $  94.85 

Tamaqua 28.15  Scottdale 96.37 

Kingston 66.90  Greensboro 366.32 

We  add  for  the  sake  of  comparison  four  agricultural  bo 
oughs  and  three  boroughs  from  the  bituminous  regions.     Ta] 
ing  these  generally,  we  find  that  agricultural  boroughs  compa 
very  favorably  with  those  in  the  coal  fields.     Wherever  a  tov 
forms  the  county  seat  or  has  mixed  industries  the  amount  ■ 
deposits  is  larger.    This  is  seen  to  be  the  case  in  both  columc 
Lykens,  Shamokin,  Kingston,  Pottsville,  Pittston,  Carbonda 
and  Hazleton  show  this  clearly,  as  do  also  Greensboro  and  I: 
diana.    Towns  also  in  close  proximity  to  cities  show  a  smj 
deposit,  for  many  persons  prefer  to  take  their  money  to  the  ci 
bank.    Other  banks  in  towns  surrounded  by  many  small  mi 
ing  camps  have  a  high  per  capita  deposit,  for  the  thrifty  fro 
these  surrounding  villages  bring  their  money  there  for  sa 
keeping.    These  varying  conditions  make  it  almost  impossib 
to  get  an  accurate  comparison  of  the  money  saved  in   mi 
ing  towns  as  compared  with  agricultural  or  bituminous  i 
gions.     All  know,  however,  that  mine  employees  do  not  pra 
tice  thrift  as  do  farmers.    If  they  did,  the  banks  in  the  anthr 
cite  coal  fields  would  far  excel  in  amount  of  deposits  any  othc 
patronized  by  the  working  classes  in  the  State.     If  a  moie 
only  of  the  sum  annually  spent  by  mine  workers  on  drink  ai 


THOSE  WHO   SAVE   MONEY.  253 

tobacco  were   saved,  the   deposits  in    these    banks   would   be 
doubled  in  ten  years.    As  it  is,  our  territory  compares  favorably 
with  the  State  at  large,  and  taking  into  consideration  the  num- 
ber of  banks  in  these  coal  fields,  it  compares  favorably  with 
s^ricultural  communities.    Another  factor  in  this  computation 
is  the  large  number  of  aliens  among  us.    Many  of  the  Sclavs^ 
and  practically  all  the  Italians  are  sojourners  only ;  they  have     / 
come  to  make  money,  save  it  and  return  to  their  native  country.  / 
These  send  their  money  regularly  to  the  fatherland  and  longingly  '; 
look  forward  to  the  day  when  they  can  return  to  the  land  of  ^ 
their  birth.    The  Sclav  and  Italian  form  about  45  per  cent,  of 
the  mine  workers  to-day,  and  the  money  they  send  to  their 
friends  across  the  sea  would  not  fall  much  below  half  a  million 
dollars  annually. 

Thrift  is  practiced  by  a  large  number  of  the  Sclavs  and  \ 
Italians,  but  it  has  fallen  into  discredit  among  the  Anglo-  | 
Saxons.  The  socialistic  tendency  of  the  time  is  fatal  to  the  / 
practice  of  this  old  virtue.  Men  are  taught  to  look  at  con- 
sumption only  and  disregard  production.  All  are  anxious  to 
get  as  much  as  possible  of  the  good  things  of  this  life,  and  many 
spend  their  wages  on  glued  furniture,  gaudy  apparel  and  vaude- 
villes. This  wild  passion,  if  persisted  in,  will  only  lead  to  one 
result.  Those  who  have  nothing  are  demanding  and  will 
demand  more  and  more  that  which  others  have  saved,  and  a 
fatal  paralysis  will  fall  upon  the  productive  energy  of  the  peo- 
ple. Our  only  way  of  escape  is  that  the  common  sense  of  the 
working  classes  will  lead  them  to  see  that  production  as  well 
as  consumption  must  be  looked  after,  and  that  the  industries  of 
a  country  will  only  prosper  in  the  fructifying  soil  of  capital 
which  is  unconsumed  production.  John  Graham  Brooks  says 
that  the  cooperatives  of  Belgium  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
"that  the  members  see  the  necessity  of  saving,  borrowing, 
lending,  even  if  in  form  they  violate  every  theoretic  principle 
of  socialism."  It  is  well  that  they  have  reached  that  conclu- 
sion, and  sooner  or  later  the  workingmen  of  America  will  also 
come  to  the  same  conclusion.  "  Self-help,  forethought,  and 
frugality  are  the  roots  in  personal  character  which  nourish  and 


254 


ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 


sustain  the  trunk  and  branches  in  "every  vigorous  common 
wealth." 

The  "Building  and  Loan." 

In  our  State  the  total  assets  of  building  and  loan  association 
decreased  in  the  year  1900  over  a  million  and  a  half  as  com 
pared  with  1899.  In  the  year  1901  they  increased  over  thre 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  Of  the  total  assets  7.6  per  cent 
were  of  associations  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields,  which  wa 
less  than  our  percentage  of  the  population  of  the  State. 

Building  and  loan  associations  began  to  flourish  in  ou 
country  as  early  as  1840.  At  that  time  the  anthracite  region: 
were  little  known  and  the  tonnage  sent  to  market  from  thes* 
coal  fields  was  small.  It  was  not  until  the  early  seventies  tha 
building  and  loan  associations  were  organized  in  anthraciti 
mining  towns,  and  the  citizens  of  the  Southern  coal  fields  wer< 
the  first  to  introduce  them.  The  following  table  shows  th< 
approximate  date  of  the  organizations  of  the  associations  noY 
existing  in  these  coal  fields,  classified  according  to  counties. 


Year. 

|. 

a 
S 

"P. 

'6 

11 

1 

d 

1 

1 

1870-1875 

5 

1 

1 

1 

1875-1880 

1 

1 

1880-1885 

4 

2 

1885-1890 

1 

2 

3 

1 

1890-1895 

13 

6 

3 

3 

2 

1895-1900 

6 

6 

3 

?o 

8 

22 

11 

2 

1 

1 

Of  the  three  counties  where  anthracite  mining  forms  the 
staple  industry,  Luzerne  stands  in  striking  contrast  with  th( 
other  two  as  to  the  number  of  building  and  loan  associations 
Five  of  the  eight  associations  in  this  county  are  in  Hazleton 
while  Wilkesbarre  with  its  51,000  population  had  only  two 
Scranton  had  17  associations,  while  Ashland  in  Schuylkil 
county,  with  a  population  of  only  6,500,  had  4.  Lackawanna 
county  has  entered  this  line  of  business  very  extensively  in  th( 
last  10  years,  while  Schuylkill  county  shows  a  steady  growth 


THOSE  WHO  SAVE   MONEY. 


255 


for  the  last  25  years.  These  associations  have  also  flourished 
in  the  mining  towns  of  Mt.  Carmel  and  Shamokin,  Northum- 
berland county,  where  11  of  them  exist.  The  four  associations 
in  Carbon,  Columbia  and  Dauphin  counties  are  in  mining  towns. 
Of  the  share-holders  in  the  65  associations  in  the  anthracite 
coal  fields,  the  larger  proportion  is  made  up  of  mine  employees. 
In  the  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  for  1893  on 
''Building  and  Loan  Associations"  we  are  told  that  69.96  per 
cent,  of  the  whole  number  of  share-holders  in  local  associations 
was  practically  working  people,  while  54.06  per  cent,  in  the 
Qational  associations  belonged  to  that  class.  The  commissioner 
says  "these  figures  show  conclusively  that  the  building  and 
loan  associations  of  the  country  are  being  used  by  the  class  for 
which  they  were  originally  established."  In  a  computation 
made  of  mine-working  share-holders  in  purely  mining  towns, 
we  found  the  percentage  to  be  54.6. 

Building  and  Loan  Associations. 


Coantj. 

Li 
II 

^1 

i 

Percentage  of 

Mine  Workers' 

Share  in 

County. 

■sS. 
I|t 

6i 

Si 

liackawanna 

20 
8 
22 
11 
2 
1 
1 

$3,191,231.03 

392,211.89 

3,111,595.98 

1,557,628.03 

150,649.21 

44,321.03 

55,449.98 

$1,742,412.14 

214,147.69 

1,698,931.40 

850,464.90 

82,254.46 

37.5 

4.6 

36.5 

18.3 

18 

23.9 

juzeme  

34.6 

Schuylkill 

23.0 

"Northumberland .... 
Carbon  

9.6      ' 
4.3 

yolombia 

24,199.28!      6.6 
30,275.68       0.7 

1.5 

)auphin 

1.5 

Totals 

65 

8,503,087.15 

4,642,685.55   100 

98.4 

The  total  assets  of  the  65  associations  in  the  anthracite  coal 
ields  were  $8,503,087.15.  If  the  proportion  above  stated 
lolds  true  of  the  territory  under  consideration,  the  mine  em- 
>loyees  are  credited  with  $4,642,685.55.  The  above  table 
:ives  the  number  of  associations  by  counties,  the  total  assets, 
he  amount  credited  to  share-holders  among  mine  employees, 
he  percentage  held  in  the  respective  counties  by  mine  workers 
nd  the  percentage  of  mine  employees  in  these  counties. 

From  this  table  it  is  seen  that  the  working  classes  of  Lacka- 


256 


ANTHRACITE   COAL    COMMUNITIES. 


wanna,  Schuylkill  and  Northumberland  counties  have  availc 
themselves  of  this  means  of  building  themselves  homes  to 
greater  extent  than  in  other  counties  in  our  territory. 

In  the  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  above  referrc 
to,  455  associations  in  our  State  had  helped  parties  to  acquii 
19,091  homes  and  425  associations  had  aided  persons  to  erc' 
2,328  other  buildings.  In  the  year  1900  the  65  associations  i 
the  anthracite  coal  fields  had  aided  to  put  up  583  houses.  W 
have  no  means  of  knowing  accurately  how  many  houses  tl 
associations  of  these  coal  fields  have  aided  to  build,  but  an  est 
mate  made  from  the  data  given  in  the  report  of  1893  as  W€ 
as  the  number  aided  by  our  local  associations  in  1900,  plao 
the  number  at  about  4,000. 

The  average  age  of  associations  in  our  country  is  6.3  yean 
that  of  those  of  our  State  is  8.1,  while  that  of  the  associatioi 
in  our  territory  is  10.1  years.  During  the  last  25  years  tl 
building  and  loan  associations  in  Schuylkill  county  have  aid( 
many  to  secure  homes,  and  the  towns  where  workingmen  ha^ 
the  opportunity  to  put  up  houses  have  greatly  increased 
assessed  valuation.  The  following  eight  towns  may  be  take 
as  specimens  of  the  increase  in  real  estate  in  the  places  specific 


Place. 

a 

a 

M 

Assessed  Value 

of  Property 

at  time  of 

Incorporation. 

1 

11 
o  a 

1 

Shenandoah. 

1866 
1857 
1873 
1843 
1864 
1873 
1866 
1864 

$131,144 
288,435 
143,180 
192,188 
138,996 
101,003 
162,862 
40,394 

$1,781,000 
955,950 
401,681 
839,249 

2,084,535 
236,288 

1,154,865 
681,132 

1,257 
231 
180 
336 

1,400 
133 
670 

1,586 

34.9 

5.1 

Girard  ville 

6.2 

Minersville 

Mahanoy  City 

Gilberton 

5.7 

36.8 

4.6 

Shamokin 

18.6 

Mt.  Carmel 

41.7 

The  table  shows  a  healthy  growth  and  in  each  instance  tj 
increased  wealth  is  directly  or  indirectly  due  to  the  minii 
industry.  The  "  unearned  increment "  may  account  for  a  po 
tion  of  the  increase,  but  the  vastly  larger  portion  represei 
the  earnings  of  men  who  have  directly  or  indirectly  made  th( 
money  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  of  Pennsylvania. 


THOSE  WHO  SAVE  MONEY.  257 

The  effect  of  industrial  crises  in  these  coal  fields  is  well  re- 
flected in  the  organization  of  these  associations.  In  the  early- 
seventies  the  anthracite  industry  flourished  in  Schuylkill  county, 
but  from  1874  to  1882  ruinous  strikes  paralyzed  business,  and^ 
luring  this  period  only  three  associations  were  started.  Scores 
of  mine  workers  fell  into  arrears  and  after  a  brave  struggle 
lost  their  property,  while  the  financiers  of  the  funds  bought  in 
the  claims  at  nominal  prices.  One  of  these  men  said  the  asso- 
ciations made  over  50  per  cent,  profit  on  these  lapses.  Indus- 
trial strife  affected  building  and  loan  associations  precisely  as  it 
did  coal  operators ;  the  financially  weak  were  crushed  and  the 
strong  grew  fat  upon  the  wrecks.  In  1888  another  ruinous 
strike  came  upon  Schuylkill  county  and  from  that  year  to  1891 
only  four  associations  were  organized.  Over  64  per  cent,  of 
the  associations  now  in  these  coal  fields  have  been  organized 
during  the  last  decade,  half  of  which  were  instituted  in  Lacka- 
wanna county.  In  the  year  following  the  strike  of  1887-1888 
in  the  Lehigh  and  Schuylkill  regions,  not  less  than  48  persons 
were  sold  out  by  sheriff  sale.  This,  however,  represents  only 
a  fraction  of  the  failures.  Workingmen  struggle  bravely 
against  an  arrearage  —  which  each  month  bears  2  per  cent,  in- 
terest —  before  they  give  up  in  despair.  Many  of  them  make 
new  loans  and  hope  to  be  better  able  to  carry  the  load  by  ex- 
tending it  over  a  larger  number  of  years.  In  the  last  strike  of 
1902  over  200  working  people  in  the  town  of  Mahanoy  City 
could  not  meet  their  monthly  dues  and,  although  few  of  them 
have  been  foreclosed,  the  anxiety  and  worry  which  came  to 
these  families  will  never  be  told.  The  penalty  for  falling  in 
arrears  —  24  per  cent,  per  year  —  frustrates  every  effort  at  re- 
claiming lost  ground,  but  not  until  this  usury  crushes  all  hope 
is  the  struggle  given  up  and  the  sheriff  allowed  to  sell  the  home 
which  has  long  been  the  care  of  the  family  and  the  object  of 
the  father^s  ambition.  We  have  seen  men,  who,  during  years 
of  normal  activity  in  the  mines,  were  industrious  and  sober  and 
looked  forward  with  joy  to  the  day  when  the  simple  home 
would  be  theirs,  become  drunkards  and  reprobates  when  the 
object  of  their  labor  and  the  dream  of  their  life  was  sold  under 
18 


258  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

the  sheriff's  hammer  and  they  and  their  families  evicted, 
building  and  loan  association  is  an  aid  to  workmen  to  secu 
homes,  but  to  the  unfortunate  ones  who  fall  into  arrears  it  b 
comes  a  deadly  parasite  which  mercilessly  consumes  the  accum 
lation  of  years. 

The  fact  that  so  many  associations  in  these  coal  fields  ha 
been  so  well  managed  by  men  who  do  not  profess  to  be  fina 
ciers  is  highly  complimentary  to  the  honesty  and  capacity  of  t 
organizers.  They  have  afforded  every  industrious  man  t 
means  of  securing  a  home.  The  managers  of  the  associatio 
have  worked  for  low  salaries  and  conducted  the  business  on 
sound  financial  basis.  The  greatest  hardship  comes  in  wh' 
the  industrious,  for  reasons  over  which  they  have  no  contrc 
fail  to  meet  their  premiums  and  see  the  struggle  of  years  d 
feated  by  the  usury  associations  charge  for  arrears.  In  all  t 
years  of  anthracite  mining  few  operators  have  aided  their  ei 
ployees  to  secure  homes.  Coal  companies  have  sold  lots 
their  men,  but  no  scheme,  based  on  the  principle  of  "  five  p 
cent,  and  the  fear  of  God,''  has  been  launched  in  aid  of  t 
mine  workers.  Every  man  who  owns  a  house  gives  his  ei 
ployer  a  mortgage  for  good  conduct  and  industrial  efficienc 
and  operators  could  have  done  much  to  secure  the  peace  ai 
enhance  the  morality  of  these  communities,  if  they  had  advance 
a  plan  whereby  their  employees  could  have  secured  homes  ai 
be  safely  guarded  against  misfortunes  which  befall  many  in  tl: 
risky  industry. 

Greater  thrift  and  economy  among  mine  employees  wou 
have  also  resulted  in  the  erection  of  many  more  homes.  C.  ' 
Rose,  Superintendent  of  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Coal  C( 
said,  that  the  30  collieries  in  his  charge  lost  half  a  day  aft 
<each  pay.  The  loss  in  wages  to  the  employees  in  one  ye 
aggregated  $322,628.  All  the  coal  companies  throughout  t 
coal  fields  make  the  same  complaint,  so  that  the  loss  of  wo; 
because  of  the  drink  habit  means  an  annual  loss  in  wages 
mine  workers  of  $3,226,284.  This  sum,  if  spent  in  buildii 
homes,  would,  in  less  than  25  years,  secure  a  sufficient  numb 
of  houses,  at  $1,000  each,  to  shelter  the  400,000  persons  d 


A  Victim  of  a  Non-fatal  Accident. 


THOSE   WHO   SAVE    MONEY.  259 

pendent  on  the  anthracite  industry.     Add  to  this  the  money 
spent  in  drink  and  it  can  be  done  in  less  than  8  years. 

Organizations  for  Sick  Benefits. 

One  of  the  signs  of  the  economic  well  being  of  the  working 
classes  of  America  is  the  multiplicity  of  fraternal  organizations 
among  them.  There  is  a  plethora  of  orders  of  all  sorts  in 
anthracite  mining  towns.  In  the  town  of  Olyphant,  there  were, 
In  1902,  31  societies  of  all  sorts,  or  one  for  every  250  per- 
sons of  the  population.  In  Miners ville  there  were  17,  or  one 
to  every  280  persons.  In  Shenandoah,  there  were  60,  or  one 
for  every  330  persons.  In  Hazleton,  there  were  52,  or  one  to 
every  274  persons.  In  Nanticoke,  there  were  35,  or  one  to 
340  inhabitants.  It  is  so  throughout  our  mining  communities. 
Organizations  of  all  kinds  for  both  male  and  female  are  found, 
which  involve  annually  business  transactions  amounting  to 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars,  and  the  business  is  virtually 
managed  by  the  workingmen  themselves. 

There  are  many  fraternal  orders  in  our  towns  for  purely 
social  purposes,  but  these  are  supported  by  the  business  and 
professional  classes.  Orders  which  are  supported  by  our  work- 
ing classes  are  distinctly  for  purposes  of  insurance  against  sick- 
ness and  death.  Men  who  earn  their  daily  bread  by  arduous 
toil  have  no  money  to  spend  in  orders  of  a  purely  social  char- 
acter. They  fear  economic  loss  through  sickness  and  are 
anxious  to  provide  some  means  against  it.  They  are  solicitous 
for  a  decent  burial  and  regularly  meet  their  dues  that  the 
funeral  benefits  may  be  paid.  Beyond  these  two  contingencies, 
the  average  workingman  does  not  concern  himself.  An  insur- 
ance man  of  wide  experience  in  our  communities  said  that  75 
per  cent,  of  the  working  classes  carries  some  kind  of  insurance, 
of  which  25  per  cent,  carries  policies  against  sickness,  and  50 
per. cent,  carries  policies  of  from  $100  to  $300  against  death. 
Two  thirds  of  these  classes  have  no  other  provision  against 
sickness  and  death.  They  live  from  hand  to  mouth  and  are 
only  solicitous  for  money  to  meet  their  dues.  At  Christmas 
time  and  the  Fourth  of  July,  the  cash  for  premiums  is  scarce. 


260  ANTHKACITE   COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

for  they  live  beyond  their  means  and  for  the  following  mom 
or  two  they  are  reduced  to  bare  necessities.  They  cann 
regularly  manage  their  income  so  as  to  secure  medium  comfo 
each  day  in  the  month.  They  move  in  rushes  and  it  is  eith 
a  feast  or  a  famine.  Their  economic  foresight  sees  two  po 
sible  contingencies  —  sickness  and  death,  and  against  these  the 
provide. 

There  is  a  marked  difference  between  the  Koman  Catholi 
and  the  Protestants  in  their  relation  to  fraternal  orders  and  tl 
ways  in  which  the  ceremonies  are  conducted.  All  fratern 
orders  have  a  religious  basis,  but  those  among  Roman  Catholi- 
are  invariably  connected  with  the  church  and  the  priest  is  tl 
spiritual  director.  Hence  in  burial  ceremonies  the  authority  ( 
the  church  is  not  interfered  with  and  the  priest  alone  admii 
isters  the  rites.  Those  among  Protestants  recognize  the  r< 
ligious  element  and  claim  that  their  order  is  founded  upc 
biblical  principles,  but  they  have  their  own  chaplain  to  condu< 
the  burial  rites.  Hence  an  inevitable  competition  if  not  confli< 
comes  in,  and  the  Protestant  clergyman  is  generally  put  in  a 
embarrassing  position  between  the  chaplains  of  fraternal  orde: 
who  insist  upon  performing  the  sacred  rites  of  burial.  All  tl 
fraternal  orders  among  Protestants  have  an  avowed  creed  whic 
is  nominally  theocratic.  Many  of  them  avoid  explicit  declan 
tions  as  to  the  person  of  Christ  and  yet  express  the  hope  < 
resurrection  and  immortality  which  is  distinctly  Christia 
teaching.  They  have  no  avowed  declaration  of  faith  an 
apply  epithets  to  God  which  ill  harmonize  with  the  best  ei 
pression  of  religious  faith  of  the  twentieth  century,  and  yc 
they  appropriate  biblical  passages  in  their  ritual,  copy  th 
prayers  of  the  church  and  use  Christian  hymns  and  musi< 
These  sacred  implements  are  often  found  in  unworthy  hands  i 
the  Church,  but  the  promiscuous  use  of  them  by  the  averag 
chaplain  among  fraternal  orders  in  our  mining  towns  destroy 
their  meaning  and  breeds  contempt  for  sacred  usages  and  cm 
toms.  No  order,  which  exists  for  beneficiary  purpose  in  sicl 
ness  and  death,  can  discard  the  religious  impulse.  In  th 
presence  of  death  the  human  heart  bows  before  the  mystery  c 


THOSE   WHO   SAVE   MONEY.  261 

the  ages,  and  the  Christian  expressions  of  hope  beyond  the 
grave  which  are  contained  in  the  Church's  prayers,  hymns, 
songs  and  Scripture,  are  the  highest  ever  attained  by  man.  If 
these  are  indiscriminately  used  by  illiterate  and  unworthy  men, 
a  spirit  of  contempt  for  religious  rites  and  ceremonies  is  fos- 
tered, which  bodes  no  good  for  society.  We  have  seen  worthy 
laymen  in  charge  of  burial  services  and  their  earnestness  and 
devotion  inspire  reverence  and  humility,  but  we  have  also  seen 
men  who  resembled  Nadab  and  Abihu  in  their  handling  of 
sacred  things.  It  is  difficult  to  see  how  to  remedy  this  sacri- 
legious usage  if  the  clergy  persists  in  keeping  aloof  from  these 
organizations.  There  is  no  reason  why  pastors  cannot  join 
fraternal  orders  and  assume  the  duties  which  the  members  feel 
they  ought  to  discharge  at  the  burial  of  a  deceased  brother. 
The  supplanting  of  the  clergy  in  the  ministrations  for  the  dead 
injures  none  as  it  does  religious  organizations,  and  the  remedy 
is  largely  in  the  hands  of  the  Protestant  pastors  themselves. 

Some  of  these  orders  also  come  in  conflict  with  the  Church  in 
other  spheres  than  the  burial  of  the  dead.  On  lodge  night  the 
Bible  is  used,  prayer  is  offered  and  a  hymn  is  sung,  and  that  is 
all  the  religion  many  of  the  members  think  they  need,  except  as 
the  organization  attends  divine  service  once  a  year.  What- 
ever ethical  and  religious  culture  these  orders  afford  their  mem- 
bers society  is  the  better  for  it.  But  whoever  substitutes  the 
order  for  the  Church  knows  little  of  the  true  place  of  the  latter 
in  society.  Remunerative  altruism,  a  vague  and  lax  belief  in 
God,  an  undeveloped  religious  sentiment,  an  artificial  and  crude 
ritual,  and  an  undefined  moral  obligation  restricted  by  no  norm 
of  conduct,  are  poor  substitutes  for  the  Church.  Natures  which 
resent  the  censor  of  the  church  for  wrong-doing,  and  abdicate 
the  religion  which  seeks  "to  save,''  find  what  they  imagine 
satisfies  their  religious  nature  in  religious  fraternal  orders.  But 
society  can  ill  afford  to  substitute  undefined  religious  conceptions 
for  the  definite  teachings  of  the  Church  and  the  good  fellowship 
of  a  secular  order  for  the  norm  of  Christian  conduct  maintained 
by  the  Christian  conscience. 

Among  loyal  Catholics  there  is  no  conflict  between  the  fra- 


262  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

ternal  orders  and  the  Church.  Spiritual  direction  rests  wholl; 
in  the  hands  of  the  priest,  while  the  laity  is  left  in  charge  o 
financial  affairs.  The  Sclavs  have  many  orders  which  are  in 
variably  called  after  the  name  of  some  hero  or  saint.  Most  o 
the  societies  are  beneficiary  and  insure  the  member  against  sick 
ness  and  death.  Among  the  Irish  and  Sclav  Catholics  benefic 
iary  societies  are  also  instituted  for  women,  while  the  Daughter 
of  Rebecca,  the  Daughters  of  Pocahontas,  and  various  othe 
auxiliaries  furnish  the  same  to  the  Protestant  women.  Amon; 
Catholics  there  are  fewer  orders  than  among  Protestants,  am 
for  this  reason  the  local  organization  among  the  former  is  nu 
merically  stronger  than  among  the  latter.  Individualism  run 
to  extremes  among  Protestants  in  matters  of  fraternal  order 
as  it  does  in  religious  organizations,  which  increases  the  cost  o 
maintenance  and  imposes  heavier  burdens  upon  the  members 
The  finances  of  these  orders  are  managed  by  the  men  them 
selves,  and  when  we  consider  the  vast  sums  handled  annuall; 
by  wage  earners,  the  fact  that  instances  of  embezzlement  are  ver 
rare  is  highly  complimentary  to  the  integrity  of  these  men.  I 
is  impossible  to  state  accurately  the  amount  of  money  annuall; 
contributed  to  these  orders  in  our  area.  In  the  territory  o 
Olyphant  (7,800  population)  we  estimated  that  the  lodges  re 
ceived  monthly  about  $1,886  in  dues,  which  ranged  from  25  t< 
60  cents.  In  addition  to  this  many  of  the  orders  assess  eacl 
member  50  cents  or  $1  when  one  of  the  order  dies.  In  th- 
towns  located  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  the  fraternal  order 
flourish  and  receive  in  dues  annually  over  a  million  and  j 
quarter  dollars.  The  benefits  they  pay  vary  from  f  4  to  $6  j 
week  for  not  more  than  from  three  to  six  months.  If  at  th< 
expiration  of  the  first  period,  the  recipient  is  still  sick,  th( 
allowance  is  reduced  one  half  and  again  runs  for  another  three  o; 
six  months.  Beyond  this  the  lodge  does  not  provide  so  that  i 
the  patient  is  in  need  he  becomes  an  object  of  charity  and  i 
aided  either  by  the  poor  board  or  the  generosity  of  neighbors 
In  case  of  death  lodges  pay  from  $50  to  $125,  and  half  rates  U 
members  when  their  wives  die.  Sclavs,  who  carry  life  insur- 
ance, get  half  the  amount  they  carry  in  case  the  wife  dies,  bu 


THOSE    WHO   SAVE   MONEY.  263 

the  society  reduces  this  one  third  if  wife  number  two  dies,  and 
one  sixth  if  wife  number  three  passes  away,  while  no  provision 
is  made  for  number  four  in  case  of  death.  Sclavs  who  carry  an 
insurance  of  from  $300  to  $600  are  treated  with  considerable 
respect  in  case  of  death,  but  a  poor  Hun,  brought  home  from  the 
mines  on  the  stretcher,  may  find  a  bolted  door.  "  Dead  man  no 
good,"  they  say. 

This  effort  of  the  working  classes  to  raise  a  barrier  against 
pauperism  and  bring  the  various  members  of  their  society  into 
relations  of  mutual  helpfulness  and  friendship  is  praiseworthy. 
All  adults  among  mine  workers  belong  to  some  lodge  which 
insures  against  sickness  and  death.  But  one  cannot  help  ob- 
serving that  the  multiplicity  of  lodges  maintained  by  the 
working  classes  is  a  waste  of  energy  and  money.  The  object 
they  aim  at  would  undoubtedly  be  better  served  if  greater  con- 
centration were  practiced  and  the  societies  covered  a  wider  range 
of  territory  than  they  now  do.  A  more  efficient  system  would 
thus  be  instituted  and  the  cooperation  of  workingmen  for  mu- 
tual protection  would  be  established  on  a  firmer  financial  basis. 
In  this  way  individual  or  local  risks  would  be  distributed  over 
a  larger  number  of  men  and  communities  subjected  to  a  high 
death  rate  could  be  more  efficiently  aided.  Men  of  wisdom  and 
large  experience  in  financial  affairs  could  also  render  material 
aid  to  these  societies  of  working  men  if  they,  by  genuine  dem- 
ocratic sentiment,  became  members  and  devoted  a  part  of  their 
time  to  guiding  the  affairs  of  the  societies.  It  is  true  that  they 
may  be  met  by  suspicion  and  find  the  workingmen  shy  and 
sensitive,  but  persistent  and  patient  devotion  to  their  welfare 
would  in  time  remove  the  barrier,  and  an  unselfish  and  earnest 
man  can  greatly  add  to  the  happiness  of  his  fellowmen  by  such 
services. 

These  orders  also  furnish  an  admirable  sphere  for  the  ex- 
ercise of  the  disposition  of  sociability.  They  are  the  expression 
of  the  social  action  of  the  members  in  distributing  individual 
risks.  The  workingmen  find  pleasure  in  their  lodges  because 
the  management  of  affairs  is  in  their  hands.  Their  meetings 
afford  occasion  for  discussions  and  in  the  long  run  result  in 


264  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

refinement  of  manners  and  in  increased  intellectual  power. 
The  results  attained  by  employees  in  the  management  of  their 
affairs  may  not  be  the  highest,  but  they  gain  experience  thereby 
and  acquire  business  tact  and  an  insight  into  the  nature  of 
the  economic  world  which  are  of  greater  social  value  than 
financial  considerations.  Independence,  self-reliance  and  fore- 
sight are  the  qualities  which  lift  men  in  the  scale  of  social 
rank,  and  in  no  sphere  are  workingmen  taught  them  better 
than  in  the  management  of  the  business  of  these  fraternal 
organizations. 

Insurance  Against  Mine  Accidents. 

John  Graham  Brooks  says  in  his  interesting  work,  "  Social 
Unrest '' :  "  In  the  anthracite  coal  fields  one  would  like  to 
begin  reform  by  applying  this  systemized  insurance  to  that 
frightful  list  of  stricken  laborers  that  are  now  thrown  back 
upon  themselves  or  their  families  with  recompense  so  uncertain 
and  niggardly  as  to  shock  the  most  primitive  sense  of  social 
justice."  All  familiar  with  the  risks  in  the  anthracite  industry 
and  with  the  varied  and  unscientific  systems  of  insurance 
which  prevail,  are  in  perfect  accord  with  this  sentiment  of  the 
eminent  economist.  In  the  year  1901  the  fatalities  among 
railroad  employees  was  2.5  per  1,000  and  3.5  per  1,000  among 
anthracite  mine  workers.  Among  switchmen,  flagmen,  and 
watchmen  the  killed  was  5.3  per  1,000  employees;  among 
our  miners  and  laborers  it  was  5.5  per  1,000.  The  fatalities 
among  miners  in  1901  was  6.2  per  1,000.  In  the  Southern 
coal  fields  the  fatalities  are  more  numerous  than  in  the  Northern. 
In  the  year  1901,  the  per  thousand  killed  among  the  miners  of 
the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  was  7.6,  while  in  three  of  the  col- 
lieries in  that  year  the  fatalities  among  the  inside  employees 
were  9.3,  10.8  and  11.7  per  thousand  respectively.  For  the 
years  1870-1901,  the  number  of  the  killed  in  the  anthracite 
industry  was  10,318,  while  the  number  of  those  non-fatally 
injured  during  the  same  period  was  27,311.  But  notwith- 
standing this  great  loss  of  life  and  limb  no  systemized  prin- 


THOSE    WHO   SAVE    MONEY. 


265 


Table  of  Non -Fatal  Accidents. 


1900. 

1901. 

1900. 

190L 

Legs  fractured 

268 

80 

201 

220 

15 

21 

4 

11 

314 

97 

245 

219 

19 

72 

1 

R 

Hibs  fractured 

35 

36 

2 

6 

4 

10 

12 

13 

35 

3 

5 

0 

0 

36 

Arms  fractured 

Hips  injured 

29 

Burned 

Pelvis  fractured 

Knee  fractured 

Internal  injuries 

Collar  bone  fractured 

Ankle  dislocated 

Toes  fractured 

0 

Bruised... 

10 

Skull  fractured 

0 

Face  cut 

12 

Teeth  knocked  out 

23 

Eyes  injured 

0 

Jaw-bone  fractured 

7            6    1 

Foot  injured 

46 

Shoulder  dislocated 

6 

9 

59 

19 

20 

6 

9 
6 
62 
41 
0 
0 

Wrist  broken 

2 

Shoulder  fractured 

Spine  injured 

1 

Back  injured 

Thigh  fractured 

Cheek-bone  fractured 

7 

Hands  crushed 

1 

Total 

1,107 

1,264 

ciple  of  insurance  has  been  adopted,  and  virtually  this  risky- 
business  has  escaped  the  expense  of  accidents  which  justice 
demands  should  be  counted  as  part  of  the  costs  of  the  industry. 
Many  of  our  coal  operators  can  say  with  Mr.  Schwab :  "  Where 
an  accident  results  fatally,  the  family  is  always  taken  care  of 
financially.  If  there  are  children,  provision  is  made  for  their 
education.  If  we  cannot  provide  means  by  which  the  wife 
can  take  care  of  herself,  we  allow  her  a  pension,  or  house  to 
live  in,  or  something  of  that  description."  Other  operators  care 
nothing  for  the  fatally  or  non-fatally  injured  in  their  mines  and 
make  no  inquiry  as  to  the  condition  of  the  family  of  the  unfor- 
tunate. All  the  countries  of  Europe  where  industries  flourish, 
have  taken  steps  to  establish  a  system  of  industrial  insurance 
which  is  just  to  the  employees.  Such  a  system  is  sadly  needed  in 
the  anthracite  industry  and  the  cost  should  be  placed  on  the  coal 
sent  to  market,  in  the  mining  of  which  so  many  of  our  fellowmen 
are  killed  or  maimed.  When  justice  will  be  established  in  our 
industrial  life,  every  risky  business  will  be  compelled  to  pay 
insurance  proportionate  to  the  peril  to  life  and  limb  incident 
to  it. 

Our  mine  inspectors  invariably  say  in  their  reports  that  over 
50  per  cent,  of  the  fatal  accidents  in  anthracite  collieries  is 
due  to  the  carelessness  of  the  men  themselves,  but  evidently 
they  do  not  allow  for  risks  which  are  incident  to  the  employ- 


266  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

ment.  In  the  tabulation  of  causes  given  by  the  Imperial 
Bureau  of  Germany  in  1887,  43  per  cent,  is  put  down  to  the 
risks  incident  to  the  business  in  which  they  occurred,  while 
only  25  per  cent,  was  due  to  the  fault  of  the  victim.  We 
doubt  not  but  a  similar  conclusion  would  be  reached  by  an 
impartial  investigator  into  the  accidents  of  these  anthracite 
collieries.  But  whatever  be  the  causes  of  these  frightful  acci- 
dents the  victims  should  be  aided  and  not  thrown  upon  the 
charity  of  society,  friends  or  relatives. 

There  are  four  systems  of  insurance  among  the  mine  em- 
ployees of  the  anthracite  coal  fields.  One  form  is  that  insti- 
tuted by  the  employees  themselves  and  wholly  maintained  and 
managed  by  them.  The  one  in  vogue  at  the  Lackawanna  col- 
liery in  the  Northern  coal  fields  is  a  good  example  of  such  a 
fund.  The  second  form  is  that  instituted,  maintained  and  man- 
aged by  the  company.  The  one  in  vogue  at  the  collieries  of  the 
Cross  Creek  Coal  Company  is  a  good  example.  The  third  form 
is  that  which  is  maintained  wholly  by  the  employees  but  man- 
aged by  the  operators.  The  fund  in  vogue  among  the  employees 
of  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  is  an  example  of  this.  Th( 
fourth  kind  is  that  maintained  and  managed  by  the  cooperatioi 
of  employers  and  employees.  The  fund  of  the  Delaware  anc 
Hudson  is  a  good  example  of  this  method.  Besides  the  abov< 
forms  of  insurance  a  fifth  may  be  added  which  is  known  as  th( 
"  keg  fund."  The  miners  preserve  the  old  powder  kegs  and  ge 
ten  cents  each  for  them ;  this  money  together  with  monthb 
dues  is  placed  in  a  fund  for  accidents.  Most  of  the  shafts  o 
the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  afford  good  example 
of  this  form  of  insurance.  Of  all  the  anthracite  mine  em 
ployees  about  60  per  cent,  would  be  in  one  or  the  other  of  th 
above  forms  of  insurance,  and  the  other  40  per  cent,  has  noth 
ing  but  the  charity  of  operators  or  fellow  employees  to  depen< 
upon  in  case  of  need. 

The  forms  of  payment  into  these  funds  vary.    In  the  Lacka 
wanna  colliery  above  mentioned,  the  adult  employees  pay  2 
cents  a  month  and  boys  under  16  years  half  that.    When 
member  is  killed  a  25-cent  assessment  is  levied  per  membe] 


THOSE   WHO   SAVE   MONEY.  267 

In  case  of  accident,  $5  a  week  is  paid  for  six  months  —  if  the 
injured  is  incapacitated  that  long — and  $75  is  paid  in  case 
of  death  for  funeral  expenses.  Boys  under  16  get  half  benefits. 
The  annual  expense  connected  with  the  fund  is  about  $115, 
and  over  $1,000  annually  is  disbursed  in  benefits.  The 
Philadelphia  and  Reading  divides  its  employees  into  four  classes 
and  collects  from  each  according  to  its  scale  of  wages.  In  case 
of  accident  members  are  paid  weekly  sums  proportionate  to 
their  contributions  while  provision  is  made  for  widows  and 
orphans.  Under  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  the  fund  is  main- 
tained by  an  equal  contribution  from  the  employees  and  the 
company.  Whenever  the  fund  is  low,  the  employees  give  their 
earnings  of  one  day  and  the  operators  give  an  equal  sum.  In 
case  of  accident  all  persons  earning  over  $1.20  a  day  are  paid  a 
dollar  a  day  (except  Sunday)  for  three  months  if  the  injured 
is  incapacitated  that  long.  Those  earning  less  than  $1.20  a 
day  are  paid  50  cents  a  day  for  not  over  three  months.  Con- 
tributions are  voluntary.  A  committee  of  five  at  each  colliery, 
comprised  of  three  contributing  members,  the  inside  and  outside 
foremen,  looks  after  the  injured.  In  fatal  accidents  $50  is  paid 
for  funeral  expenses  and  in  case  a  widow  is  left,  $3  a  week  is 
given  her  and  $1  a  week  to  each  child  under  12  years  of  age, 
for  one  year.  Of  the  12,500  employees  of  the  company  5,581 
belonged  to  the  association  in  January,  1903. 

The  first  fund  established  in  these  coal  fields  was  in  1869  by 
the  Wilkesbarre  Coal  Company  after  the  Avondale  disaster.  It 
was  operated  after  the  manner  above  described  in  the  Delaware 
and  Hudson  fund.  Charles  Parish  established  a  similar  fund 
in  the  Lehigh  and  Wilkesbarre  Coal  Company  in  1873.  The 
fund  lasted  one  year  and  was  abandoned  by  the  company  for 
"the  men  abused  it."  In  1875  the  Lehigh  Valley  Company 
instituted  a  fund  on  the  same  plan  as  that  of  the  Delaware  and 
Hudson.  In  the  conflict  of  1887-1888  the  employees  got  sus- 
picious and  the  employers  indifferent,  so  that  the  fund  was 
dropped  in  the  coUeries  of  the  company  in  the  Middle  and 
Southern  coal  fields.  It  was  kept  going  in  its  collieries  in  the 
Northern  coal  fields  for  a  few  years  longer,  but  it  is  wholly 


268  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

abandoned  to-day.  The  Philadelphia  and  Reading  established 
its  fund  in  1877,  and  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  in  1887.  On 
the  Hazleton  mountain  the  custom  generally  is  for  the  operator 
to  contribute  $50  in  case  of  death  and  the  workmen  50  cents 
each.  No  insurance  is  provided  for  non-fatal  accidents  in  this 
territory,  but  employees  dealing  in  company  stores  are  "  car- 
ried" while  incapacitated.  The  Coxe  Brothers,  as  before 
mentioned,  give  $5  a  week  to  the  injured.  This  company  is 
liberal  in  the  matter  of  insurance,  and  one  of  its  employees 
said :  "  Well  may  they  for  we  work  for  them  on  the  calico  basis.''  * 
Lower  wages  are  paid  day  employees  under  this  company  than 
under  any  other  in  the  coal  fields. 

There  are  many  instances  of  employees  refusing  a  scheme  of 
insurance  proposed  by  operators.  The  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company  proposed  a  system  of  insurance  to  its  employees  in 
Williamstown  and  Lykens,  modeled  after  its  scheme  for  its 
railroad  employees,  but  the  miners  refused  it.  The  Lytle  Coal 
Company  proposed  one  modeled  after  the  manner  of  the  Dela- 
ware and  Hudson,  but  the  men  were  suspicious  of  the  good  in- 
tentions of  the  employers  and  refused  it.  The  employees  of 
the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  refused  the  scheme  which  was 
proposed  them  in  1873,  and  it  was  only  by  the  determination 
of  Franklin  B.  Gowen,  who  knew  better  than  the  men  them- 
selves what  they  needed,  that  the  present  system  was  estab- 
lished. It  began  by  a  contribution  by  the  company  in  1875 
of  $20,000.  It  has  worked  well  for  over  25  years,  but  at 
present  many  employees  complain  of  the  tyranny  of  the  corpor- 
ation which,  they  say,  annually  collects  thousands  more  than  it 
pays  out.  They  think  not,  or  possibly  they  are  ignorant  of,  the 
deficit  of  former  years  which  is  gradually  being  wiped  out  by 
the  surplus  annually  collected. 

The  Lehigh  Coal  and  Navigation  Company's  fund  has  upon 

it  the  stamp  of  the  late  Abram  S.  Hewitt,  who,  in  1877,  in- 

*The  "  calico  basis  "  refers  to  an  agreement  made  in  the  seventies  between 
the  employees  and  E.  B.  Coxe.  Mr.  Coxe  informed  the  men  that  he  could 
not  compete  with  other  operators  unless  they  consented  to  a  reduction.  This 
reduced  their  wages  so  low  that  the  wives  of  the  miners  could  get  nothing  save 
calico  to  wear,  and  the  agreement  was  called  the  "  calico  basis." 


THOSE   WHO  SAVE   MONEY. 


269 


sisted  upon  the  company,  of  which  he  was  a  director,  doing 
something  for  its  employees,  many  of  whom  lived  like  "  hogs 
and  dogs.''  In  1883  the  company  donated  $20,000  to  found 
a  fund  and  then  levied  one  half  of  one  per  cent,  on  the  wages 
of  inside  labor  for  the  maintenance  of  the  fund,  while  the 
company,  as  its  portion,  contributed  a  fixed  sum  for  each  ton 
of  coal  mined.  The  sum  of  $30  is  paid  for  funeral  expenses, 
half  pay  is  given  the  widow  or  family  of  the  killed  for  18 
months,  and  half  pay  is  given  the  injured  for  not  more  than 
six  months. 

The  following  table  compiled  from  the  annual  reports  of 
the  Delaware  and  Hudson  gives  the  number  of  injured,  killed, 
etc.,  for  the  years  specified,  in  the  collieries  of  this  company. 


. 

o 

Ti 

a 

1 

p 

It 

13 

11 

1 

Hi 

1887 

101 

12.81 

3 

2 

6 

1888 

259 

16.62 

2 

6 

16 

1889 

359 

16.81 

6 

3 

8 

1890 

329 

15.81 

1 

2 

2 

1891 

606 

15.72 

4 

5 

8 

1892 

748 

14.80 

0 

4 

4 

1893 

989 

14.48 

5 

4 

15 

1894 

867 

13.92 

3 

5 

9 

1895 

1,171 

14.13 

5 

8 

12 

1896 

1,405 

14.03 

6 

9 

23 

1897 

1,132 

14.94 

11 

10 

28 

1898 

637 

17.51 

3 

10 

13 

1899 

686 

18.48 

9 

9 

12 

1900 

606 

18.97 

2 

14 

20 

1901 

673 

19.02 

9 

8 

15 

The  table  shows  clearly  that  non-fatal  accidents  are  of  a 
more  serious  character  in  recent  years  than  in  previous  ones. 
This  is  due  partly  to  the  installation  of  heavier  machinery  and 
partly  to  the  larger  amount  of  powder  used  in  the  harder  and 
smaller  veins. 

During  the  existence  of  this  fund  from  1887  to  the  close  of 
1901,  the  company  disbursed  the  sum  of  $197,466.53,  and 
collected  $206,454.58,  so  that  there  was  left  in  the  treasury  on 
January  1,  1902,  $8,988.05.     The    company   annually  pub- 


270  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

lishes  a  statement,  giving  all  necessary  details  as  to  collections 
and  disbursements.  This  is  commendable  and  invites  the  con- 
fidence of  the  employees  among  whom  the  statements  are 
distributed.  ' 

The  Philadelphia  and  Beading  Coal  and  Iron  Company  has 
the  most  extensive  system  of  insurance  against  accidents  of  all 
the  operators  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields.  From  1877  to  1900 
it  was  practically  compulsory,  but  during  the  recent  industrial 
friction  there  has  been  an  assertion  of  individual  rights  on  the 
part  of  some  employees,  which  results  in  overt  criticism  of  the 
fund.  This  has  had  a  discouraging  effect  upon  some  of  the 
officials,  who  have  seriously  considered  the  advisability  of  dis- 
continuing it.  No  more  serious  mistake  could  be  committed 
for  both  employers  and  employees  than  to  discontinue  the  fund 
before  some  other  means  of  relief  is  provided  against  accidents. 

The  fund  was  established,  as  above  stated,  in  1875  by  an  en- 
dowment of  $20,000  by  the  company  which  was  invested  in  first 
mortgage  bonds  in  the  Mammoth  Coal  and  Iron  Company  and  the 
Preston  Coal  and  Improvement  Company,  bearing  4  per  cent, 
interest  annually.  The  employees  were  then  classified  into 
four  classes  and  the  sums  of  30  cents,  20  cents,  10  cents,  and 
5  cents  a  month  kept  at  the  office  of  the  company  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  fund.  The  benefits  were  $5  a  week  for  not  more 
than  six  months  to  those  of  the  two  first  classes ;  $2  a  week  to 
those  assessed  10  cents,  and  $1  to  those  assessed  5  cents ;  $30 
was  paid  for  funeral  expenses ;  $7  a  week  was  paid  to  the 
family  of  men  killed  in  the  first  and  second  class ;  $2.80  to 
those  of  the  third  class  and  $1.40  to  those  of  the  fourth  class, 
for  one  year.  This  scheme  worked  for  12  years,  but  the  dues 
were  not  enough  to  cover  the  disbursements,  so  that  at  the 
close  of  1888  there  was  a  deficit  of  $131,275.  This  was  the 
year  of  the  sympathetic  strike  of  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading 
men,  and  possibly  the  ingratitude  of  the  employees  had  some- 
thing to  do  with  the  resolution  of  the  company  to  make  the 
fund  self-sustaining.  In  1889  the  dues  were  advanced  to  50 
cents,  40  cents,  30  cents  and  15  cents.  The  benefits  were  also 
changed,  and  $5  a  week  was  now  paid  to  men  in  the  first, 


THOSE   WHO   SAVE   MONEY.  271 

second  and  third  classes  and  $2  to  those  in  the  fourth  class ; 
$30  was  paid  for  funeral  benefits ;  $7  a  week  to  the  family  of 
those  killed  in  the  first,  second  and  third  classes,  and  $2.80  to 
that  of  those  in  the  fourth  class  for  one  year.  This  scheme 
from  the  first  year  left  a  balance  which  could  be  applied  to  the 
deficit,  so  that  from  January  1,  1889,  to  December  31,  1902, 
the  sum  of  $127,053.43  was  paid  on  the  debt  of  the  old 
fund,  leaving  still  the  sum  of  $4,710.07  to  be  paid.  During 
the  existence  of  this  fund  the  company  has  paid  to  the  73,821* 
injured  employees  $1,344,769.32,  and  to  the  families  of  the 
3,019  killed,  $577,724.74.  The  maximum  number  of  con- 
tributors to  the  fund  was  in  the  year  1897,  when  it  reached  the 
total  of  27,682  employees.  In  1900  the  number  was  25,541, 
and  in  1901,  23,254.  The  presence  of  the  Miners'  Union  in 
the  coal  fields  as  well  as  the  irritation  caused  by  the  strikes  of 
1900  and  1902,  has  resulted  in  strained  relations  between 
employer  and  employee,  and  the  fund,  which  has  accomplished 
great  good  in  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  is  subjected  to 
criticism.  The  employees  in  their  conventions  have  openly 
charged  the  company  with  collecting  more  than  it  disbursed, 
and  condemned  it  as  unjust  "  in  keeping  thousands  of  the  em- 
ployees' wages  every  year."  The  following  statement,  pub- 
lished in  a  report  of  one  of  their  conventions,  shows  to  what 
extreme  suspicion  leads  men  :  "  It  is  alleged  that  the  company 
[P.  &  R.]  collects  about  $120,000  per  annum  from  its  work- 
men in  the  Ninth  district,  and  that  less  than  25  per  cent,  of 

*This  number  of  injured  among  the  employees  of  the  Philadelphia  and 
Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company  ill  harmonizes  with  the  total  injured  among 
all  employees  of  anthracite  collieries  as  given  on  page  264.  The  discrepancy 
is  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  reports  of  mine  inspectors,  from  which  we 
have  taken  the  number  injured  for  31  years  (1870-1901),  do  not  record  acci- 
dents as  accurately  as  do  the  ledgers  of  accident  funds.  During  the  decade, 
1891-1901,  an  average  of  3,684  persons  among  the  employees  of  the  Reading 
Coal  and  Iron  Company,  annually  drew  claims  because  of  accidents.  This 
rate  gives  one  out  of  every  seven,  or  147  persons  per  1,000  employees  non- 
fatally  injured  each  year.  The  accidental  fund  of  the  Delaware  and  Hudson 
shows  that  in  the  decade  1891-1901,  an  annual  average  of  891  persons  was 
paid  benefits,  which  was  one  out  of  every  seven  members  of  the  fund,  or  148 
persons  injured  per  1,000  employees.  Among  railroad  employees  1  is  in- 
jured to  every  29,  and  among  trainmen  1  to  every  10  employed. 


272 


ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 


this  sum  is  paid  out  in  benefits."  The  company  could  allaj 
much  of  this  suspicion  if  it  annually  published  a  statement 
such  as  is  issued  by  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Co.,  whereb} 
the  employees  may  be  accurately  informed  as  to  the  conditioi 
of  the  fund.  However,  all  such  transactions  finally  rest  upor 
confidence  between  employer  and  employee,  and,  somehow,  th( 
presence  of  the  union  has  largely  destroyed  this.  One  of  th( 
managers  explained  it  by  saying :  "  These  men  repose  more 
confidence  in  unscrupulous  leaders  than  in  responsible  businesi 
men."  Blind  ignorance,  suspicion  and  prejudice  characteriz* 
both  parties.  These  disintegrating  forces  have  too  prominem 
a  place  in  the  ranks  of  both  capital  and  labor,  but  we  hop< 
they  will  not  prove  fatal  to  the  most  extensive  system  of  in- 
surance in  the  coal  fields. 

The  following  table,  compiled  from  the  reports  of  the  Phil- 
adelphia and  Reading  Co.,  shows  the  number  injured,  killed 
etc.,  from  1887  to  1902: 


Year. 

Number 
Injured. 

Average  No. 
of  Days  Lost. 

No.  of  Killed. 

No.  Killed  per 

1.000 
Contributors. 

1887 

2,900 

19.08 

95 

5.8 

1888 

2,901 

18.06 

109 

5.5 

1889 

3,089 

20.16 

111 

5.6 

1890 

3,520 

19.26 

126 

5.5 

1891 

4,274 

18.78 

153 

6.7 

1892 

3,838 

20.82 

162 

6.2 

1893 

3,696 

22.80 

139 

6.7 

1894 

3,904 

23.40 

165 

6.3 

1895 

4,189 

23.52 

164 

6.2 

1896 

3,925 

24.42 

169 

6.1 

1897 

1,951 

27.78 

141 

5.1 

1898 

3,662 

25.92 

174 

6.4 

1899 

3,986 

25.43 

149 

5.9 

1900 

4,181 

23.83 

149 

5.9 

1901 

3,840 

24.56 

158 

6.1 

1902 

3,511 

25.40 

168 

7.2 

6  Months. 

571 

22.89 

95 

2.8 

This  table  shows  the  same  as  did  that  of  the  Delaware  anc 
Hudson,  that  the  character  of  the  non-fatal  injuries  is  mort 
serious  in  the  last  decade  than  in  previous  years. 

Of  all  needs  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  there  is  none  greatei 
than  that  of  a  system  of  insurance  based  upon  scientific  principles 
and  including  all  the  employees  of  the  industry.     Nearly  hal: 


THOSE   WHO   SAVE   MONEY.  273 

the  employees  have  no  provision  for  either  the  incapacitated 
through  accident  or  for  the  maintenance  of  widows  and  orphans 
when  death  befalls  those  who  provide  for  them  in  this  hazardous 
calling.  Many  operators  display  generosity  worthy  of  emula- 
tion ;  others  manifest  criminal  indifference  to  the  sufferings  of 
employees  and  their  families  because  of  accidents.  There  is  no 
reason  why  any  of  these  men,  in  case  of  accident,  should  be  left 
to  the  uncertainty  of  the  generous  impulse  of  operators.  In- 
dustrial friction  is  fatal  to  generous  sentiment.  One  of  the 
operators  on  the  Hazleton  mountain  annulled  a  beneficent  sys- 
tem of  funeral  benefits  which  had  been  in  existence  for  20  years 
because,  as  he  claimed,  "  the  union  violated  its  contract,"  when 
in  fact  the  men  only  acted  from  motives  of  sympathy  toward  a 
fellowman  killed  in  the  mines.  To  leave  these  men  to  the 
mercy  of  over-bearing  operators  in  case  of  injury  and  death  is 
unworthy  of  the  civilization  of  the  century  in  which  we  live. 
The  employees  deserve  better  treatment.  A  system  of  insur- 
ance modeled  after  that  of  Germany  or  France  should  be  drafted 
and  enforced,  the  basic  principle  of  which  is  that  the  business 
should  pay  risks  commensurate  to  the  perils  surrounding  the 
men  digging  coal.  It  is  unjust  to  impose  the  burden  wholly 
upon  the  employees ;  the  employers  also  should  bear  a  portion, 
if  not  the  greater  part  of  the  burden.  A  general  system  in- 
corporating the  scheme  practiced  by  the  Lehigh  Navigation  and 
Coal  Company  would  probably  be  the  best  possible  one,  in  order 
to  encourage  care  and  vigilance  on  the  part  of  employees 
and  also  throw  upon  every  ton  of  coal  mined  a  part  of  the  burden 
due  to  accidents  which  is  now  borne  almost  wholly  by  the 
workingmen  themselves.  It  has  long  been  an  established  prin- 
ciple that  production  must  provide  for  the  depreciation  of  ma- 
chinery ;  i»  is  time  it  should  also  provide  for  the  depreciation 
of  man. 
19 


CHAPTER  X. 


OUR  CRIMINALS. 


1.  Ceime  in  the  Anthracite  Counties.  2.  The  Dockets  of  the  Jus- 
tices OF  the  Peace.  3.  Crime  Among  Farmers  and  Miners  — 
A  Comparison.    4.  The  Boys  and  Gjrls  Who  go  Wrong. 


Crime  in  the  Anthracite  Counties. 

In  1900,  695  persons  were  admitted  to  the  penitentiaries  of 
our  State  ;  68.63  per  cent,  was  committed  for  the  first  time 
and  31.37  per  cent,  recommitted  from  the  second  to  the  four- 
teenth time.  The  youngest  of  these  convicts  was  only  16  years 
of  age  ;  11  per  cent,  between  16  and  20  years  ;  42.86  per  cent, 
between  20  and  30  years,  and  46  per  cent,  over  30  years  of 
age,  while  the  average  age  of  the  group  was  only  31.9  years. 
Illiteracy  was  not  high  among  them,  for  87  per  cent,  could  read 
and  write  ;  82  per  cent,  was  native  born  and  18  per  cent,  for- 
eign born  ;  but  85  per  cent,  had  no  trade.  At  the  age  of  16 
years,  66.9  per  cent,  had  both  parents  living,  25  per  cent, 
had  one  parent  living,  and  8.1  per  cent,  had  lost  both  parents. 
Only  16  per  cent,  was  total  abstainers  and  43.6  per  cent,  was 
intemperate ;  63  per  cent,  was  single  or  widowed  at  the  time 
the  crime  was  committed.  Of  the  prisoners  in  county  jails, 
about  2  per  cent,  was  16  years  of  age  ;  59  per  cent,  between 
20  and  30  years,  and  39  per  cent,  over  30  years  of  age.  Of 
these  82  per  cent,  was  convicted  for  the  first  time,  and  the  re- 
mainder recommitted  from  the  second  to  the  tenth  time.  Illit- 
eracy is  not  great  here  again,  for  79  per  cent,  could  read  and 
write  ;  82  per  cent,  had  no  trade  ;  14  per  cent,  totally  ab- 
stained from  the  use  of  alcoholic  drink  and  18  per  cent, 
was  intemperate  ;  62  per  cent,  was  single  at  the  time  the 
crime  was  committed.  One  fact  is  evident  from  these  data, 
namely,   that  educational  advantages  do  not  appear  to  have 

274 


OUR   CRIMINAI^.  275 

a  deterrent  influence  upon  persons  predisposed  to  crime,  for 
those  who  had  had  the  advantages  of  a  public  school  educa- 
tion formed  by  far  the  majority  of  criminals. 

In  the  three  counties,  Lackawanna,  Luzerne  and  Schuylkill, 
where  anthracite  mining  forms  the  staple  industry,  the  popula- 
tion increased  during  the  last  decade  25.4  per  cent.,  and  the 
number  of  convictions  for  crime  during  the  same  period  in- 
creased 34.15  per  cent.  From  1890  to  1900  in  our  State  the 
number  of  convictions  kept  pace  with  the  percentage  increase 
of  population,  but  did  not  exceed  it.  The  following  table  gives 
the  percentage  increase  of  convictions  and  of  population  in  each 
of  the  above  counties  in  the  last  decade  : 


Increase  of 
Convictions. 

Increase  of 
Population. 

Lackawanna. 

43.96  % 

36.4  % 

Luzerne. 

40.35 

27.8 

Schuylkill. 

20.87 

12.2 

General. 

34.16 

25.4 

The  figures  show  that  the  number  of  convictions  increased 
most  rapidly  in  Luzerne  county.  The  number  of  convictions 
to  the  100,000  population  is  given  in  the  following  table : 


1890. 

1900. 

Lackawanna. 

81.63 

106.79 

Luzerne. 

33.79 

44.33 

Schuylkill. 

105.73 
69.75 

119.12 

General. 

84.47 

In  all  the  State  it  was  66.48  and  66.37  per  100,000  popu- 
lation for  the  above  years,  so  that  the  number  of  convictions 
kept  pace  with  population  in  the  Commonwealth,  but  increased 
in  the  anthracite  coal  fields. 

The  number  of  persons  charged  with  crime  in  the  three 
counties  in  1890  was  507.58  per  100,000,  and  in  1900  it  had 
increased  to  891.83.  In  the  State  the  number  of  persons 
charged  with  crime  in  the  years  compared  was  about  the  same. 
Of  the  bills  presented  to  the  grand  juries  of  the  three  counties 
in  1890,  57.7  per  cent,  was  returned  as  true  bills,  and  in  1900, 
35.1  per  cent.,  but  in  the  State  at  large  it  was  76.5  per  cent. 


276 


ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 


and  70.8  per  cent,  respectively.  Of  the  persons  tried  in  ou 
counties  23.7  per  cent,  was  convicted  in  1890,  and  25.3  pc 
cent,  in  1900,  while  in  the  State  about  the  same  percentage 
prevailed. 

In  1890,  in  the  three  counties  there  were  89.45  persons  pc 
100,000  population  in  county  jails,  and  in  1900  there  wei 
119.57.  In  all  the  State  the  figures  were  109.64  per  100,00 
population  in  1890,  and  119.87  in  1900,  so  that  the  propoi 
tion  of  inmates  in  county  jails  in  our  territory  was  about  tt 
same  as  in  the  county  jails  of  the  State  at  large.  Crimes  ai 
generally  classified  as  against  person  or  property ;  the  follow 
ing  figures  give  the  percentage  in  the  State  and  in  the  thn 
counties  for  the  years  specified. 


Year. 


Crimes  Against 
Person. 


Crimes  Against 
Property. 


In  State. 


In  Anthracite  counties. 


1890 
1900 
1890 
1900 


43.99% 
45.37 
54.43 
50.09 


56.01% 
54.63 
45.57 
49.91 


The  table  shows  that  crimes  against  person  are  more  prevalei 
in  our  territory  than  in  the  State  at  large.  In  the  penitei 
tiaries  of  our  State  70.6  per  cent,  of  the  crimes  committed  h 
the  inmates  was  against  property  and  29.4  per  cent,  againi 
person. 

During  the  decade  a  marked  increase  was  observed  in  tl 
following  crimes :  assault  and  battery,  carrying  conceak 
weapons,  disorderly  conduct,  desertion,  homicide,  receivic 
stolen  goods,  resisting  officer  and  seduction ;  while  larceny,  mj 
licious  mischief  and  fornication  remained  about  the  same.  . 
preceptible  falling  off  is  observed  in  violating  the  liquor  la 
and  false  pretense,  due  possibly  to  a  less  rigid  enforcement  < 
the  law. 

From  the  study  of  the  nature  of  crimes  committed  in  thei 
coal  fields,  we  find  that  the  number  against  person  is  very  larg 
which  is  due  to  passionate  outbursts  and  lack  of  self-restrain 
It  is  the  characteristic  of  savages  to  be  swayed  by  passiona 
outbursts  of  feeling  uncontrolled  by  reason,  and  unfortunate. 


OUR  CRIMINALS.  277 

the  same  is  true  of  a  large  number  of  our  people.  It  is  also 
worthy  of  note  that  of  the  total  sum  of  recognizance  forfeited  in 
the  State  in  1890,  68.15  per  cent,  was  in  the  above  mentioned 
counties,  and  in  1900,  66.50  per  cent.  The  figures  also  bring 
forth  one  other  characteristic  which  will  become  more  clear  in 
the  progress  of  this  chapter,  namely,  the  small  percentage  of 
true  bills  which  grand  juries  in  the  three  counties  return  of  all 
the  bills  presented  to  them.  In  the  year  1890,  grand  juries  of 
the  State  in  general  found  76.5  per  cent,  of  the  bills  true  ones, 
and  the  grand  juries  of  these  coal  fields  57  per  cent.,  but  in  the 
year  1900  the  former  returned  to  court  70.8  per  cent,  while  the 
latter  only  35  per  cent.  In  1901,  71.9  percent,  was  returned 
by  grand  juries  of  the  State  and  41.7  per  cent,  in  the  coal  fields. 
It  is  a  general  complaint  in  our  courts  that  the  justices  of  the 
peace  return  trivial  cases  which  ought  to  have  been  finally  dis- 
posed of  in  the  local  court.  When  these  cases  come  before  our 
grand  juries  they  are  ignored,  but  the  ignorance  and  want  of 
judgment  of  local  magistrates  increase  the  costs  to  the  counties* 
and  become  a  source  of  great  annoyance,  vexation  and  expense 
to  innocent  parties  who  are  the  victims  of  malice  or  envy. 
Lackawanna  county  is  the  chief  transgressor  in  this  regard. 
From  it  comes  50  per  cent,  of  the  persons  charged  with  crime 
in  the  three  counties,  although  it  contains  only  31  per  cent,  of 
the  population  of  that  area.  Of  all  the  persons  charged  with 
crime  in  1900  in  the  counties  specified,  only  37.4  per  cent,  was 
brought  to  trial,  while  in  the  State  at  large  there  was  80.5  per 
cent,  tried.  Of  the  inmates  in  Lackawanna  county  jail  in 
1900,  43  per  cent,  was  there  by  the  summary  conviction  of 
the  justices  of  the  peace.  The  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Char- 
ities speaks  of  this  evil :  "  many  are  hastily  convicted  here 
(Lackawanna  county)  by  magistrates  for  trivial  offences.  This 
at  all  times  is  bad,  but  when  done  in  the  case  of  children,  is 
criminal.''     It  is  criminal  in  90  per  cent,  of  these  cases  and  is 

*  Judge  C.  E.  Savidge,  of  Northumberland  Co.,  in  the  October  (1903) 
county  court  was  so  chagrined  over  the  trivial  cases  brought  before  him,  that 
he  advocated  the  abolition  of  justices  of  the  peace  and  the  appointment  of 
police  magistrates.  Trivial  cases  which  should  be  disposed  of  in  the  local 
court  are  returned  and  the  cost  often  amounts  to  from  $50  to  $100  to  the  county. 


278  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

due  to  the  callous  indifference  or  gross  ignorance  of  justices 
the  peace  as  to  the  effect  of  imprisonment  on  men. 

If  we  turn  to  the  financial  side  of  the  question  we  find  th, 
it  cost  the  people  of  the  three  counties  in  1890,  12.33  cents  p« 
capita  to  maintain  the  prisoners  in  the  county  jails,  and  in  19C 
it  was  reduced  to  10.10.  In  the  decade,  however,  the  percei 
tage  of  expenses  appropriated  for  salaries  of  ofiicers  increase 
nearly  27.8  per  cent.  In  1890  it  was  29.27  per  cent,  of  tl 
total  expenditure  and  in  1900  it  was  37.44  per  cent.  Th 
shows  that  our  territory  is  in  perfect  accord  with  the  State  i 
increased  appropriations  for  the  efficient  officers  the  politiciai 
choose.  The  three  counties  differ  as  to  the  percentage  appn 
propriated  to  salaries.  Lackawanna  appropriates  35.1  per  cen 
of  the  total  cost,  Luzerne  44.7  per  cent,  and  Schuylkill  33. 
per  cent. 

In  1890  the  three  counties  paid  for  the  maintenance  of  pri.' 
oners  in  penitentiaries  the  sum  of  $4,600.28,  but  in  1900  i 
was  $11,551.55,  or  nearly  three  fold  what  it  was  a  decade  ag( 

The  record  of  crime  in  the  three  counties  which  are  the  bes 
representation  we  can  get  of  the  anthracite  coal  fields,  is 
lamentable  one  to  contemplate  and  it  shows  beyond  questio 
that  in  no  other  section  of  our  State  are  crimes  more  prevaleni 
and  nowhere  do  they  take  a  more  brutal  form.  They  ar 
largely  attributable  to  the  sensual  and  brutal  elements  of  huma: 
nature  and  bear  witness  to  the  lack  of  moral  restraint  in  on 
people.  They  are  subject  to  outbursts  of  passion,  when  respec 
for  man  in  whom  dwells  the  true  '*  shekinah  "  is  wholly  forgotten 
We  can  get  a  nearer  view  of  these  crimes  by  the  study  of  th' 
criminal  dockets  of  justices  of  the  peace  of  typical  mining 
towns,  and  the  impression  made  by  this  general  study  of  th< 
three  leading  counties  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  will  b< 
deepened. 

The  Dockets  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace. 
The  study  of  the  dockets  of  justices  of  the  peace  and  bur 
gesses  in  our  boroughs  does  not  tend  to  exalt  one's  respect  foj 
the  courts,  in  which  the  fii-st  step  is  taken  in  the  course  pre- 


OUB  CRIMINAIiS.  279 

scribed  for  the  adjustment  of  difficulties  arising  from  the  frailties 
of  human  nature.  Some  burgesses  and  justices  of  the  peace 
are  intelligent  and  well  qualified  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the 
office  they  hold.  They  are  versed  in  the  law  governing  their 
duties ;  they  have  a  right  idea  of  the  importance  of  just  treat- 
ment of  those  who  appear  before  them,  and  their  dockets  are 
well  kept.  Others  are  in  offices  when  they  ought  to  be  behind 
prison  bars.  They  know  nothing  of  the  law  and  feel  no  respon- 
sibility in  the  discharge  of  their  duties.  They  are  politicians 
and  are  in  the  office  for  "  what's  in  it."  The  ignorant  and  in- 
nocent are  their  victims  and  their  dockets  are  a  mass  of  unin- 
telligent scroll,  filthy  and  torn,  and  no  itemized  account  kept 
of  the  charges  in  the  cases  tried  by  them.  When  business  is 
dull  and  these  vampires  "  run  dry,"  they  are  known  to  enter 
ficticious  suits  on  their  dockets,  return  the  same  to  court  and 
collect  the  fees.  Constables  are  parties  to  the  crime,  and  are 
of  the  same  type  as  the  so-called  dispensers  of  justice.  It  is  a 
coterie  of  vicious  idlers,  too  lazy  to  work,  too  corrupt  to  be 
trusted  by  the  average  citizen  in  matters  of  justice,  and  too 
drunk  to  even  enter  the  few  cases  they  try  when  a  poor  victim 
has  been  trapped  by  an  unscrupulous  pawn.  These  scoundrels 
very  charily  permit  the  investigator  to  examine  their  dockets, 
and  make  all  possible  excuses  when  asked  to  produce  them. 
They  also  have  a  lawyer  near  at  hand  —  a  man  of  the  same 
type  as  themselves,  who  reminds  one  of  a  cunning  watch-dog, 
trained  and  fattened  to  saf^uard  the  devious  paths  of  a 
blundering  and  arrogant  public  servant,  who  owes  his  position 
to  his  trickery  as  a  ward  politician.  It  is  a  sad  reflection  on 
any  community  to  elect  such  men  to  offices  established  for  the 
purpose  of  dispensing  justice  in  townships  and  boroughs,  but  it 
is  only  another  outcrop  of  the  accursed  system  of  politics  whose 
basic  principle  is  "  to  the  victors  belong  the  spoil." 

The  local  courts  of  mining  towns  are  kept]  busy  and  the 
volujne  of  business  is  great.  In  each  borough  there  are  two 
justices  of  the  peace  and,  as  a  rule,  they  live  well  on  the  income 
of  the  office.  The  town  of  Shenandoah  in  1901  sent  in 
30   per  cent,    of  the  criminal    cases    returned    in   Schuylkill 


280 


ANTHRACITE   COAL,   COMMUNITIES. 


county  although  its  percentage  of  population  is  only  12.  The 
records  for  the  years  1895  and  1896  show  that  about  60  per 
cent,  of  the  criminal  cases  returned  to  court  originated  in  the 
above  mining  town.  This  is  accounted  for  by  the  mixed 
population  found  in  Shenandoah,  and  the  restlessness  of  the 
Sclav  groups,  which  represent  various  nations  and  tribes,  be- 
tween whom  are  ceaseless  jealousies  and  rivalries. 

The  following  table  gives  the  business  done  by  justices  of  the 
peace  in  three  boroughs  located  in  the  Southern  coal  fields  for 
the  year  1900. 


Place. 


Shenandoah. 
Population  20,000. 


Mahanoy  City. 
Population  13,500. 


Mt.  Carmel. 
Population  13,100. 


Total  No. 
of  Cases, 


639 


613 


586 


Disposition  of  Cases. 


Dismissed 
Settled 
Returned 
Sentenced 

Dismissed 
Settled 
Returned 
Sentenced 

Dismissed 
Settled 
Returned 
Sentenced 


22  or    3.4% 
340  "53.3 
265  ''41.4 

12  ''    1.9 

126  "  21.6 

283  "46.2 

204  "32.2 

0  " 

336  "57.3 

120  "  20.5 

99  "  16.8 

31  "    5.4 


Total  Cost 
of  Suits. 


$4,412.90 


3,534.89 


3,161.26 


At.  Cost 
per 
Suit 


$6.90 


5.61 


5.39 


The  following  table  gives  the  record  of  three  towns  in  the 
Northern  coal  fields  for  the  same  year. 


Place. 


Olyphant. 
Population  6,100. 


Nanticoke. 
Population  12,100. 


Edwardsville. 
Population  5,100. 


Total  No. 
of  Cases. 


355 


295 


125 


Disposition  of  Cases. 


Dismissed  159  or  44.8% 

Settled  41  "11.5 

Returned  139  "39.2 

Deft,  not  found  16  "    4.4 


Dismissed 

91 

"  30.8 

Settled 

39 

"  13.2 

Returned 

95 

"  32.2 

Sentenced 

70 

"  23.8 

Dismissed 

40 

"  32.0 

Settled 

27 

"  21.6 

Returned 

45 

"  36.0 

Sentenced 

13 

"  10.4 

Total  Cost 
of  Suits. 


$2,213.09 


1,411.80 


Av.  Cost 
per 
Suit. 


$6.23 


4.84 


581.25      4.65 


OUR   CRIMINALS.  281 

Various  considerations  enter  into  these  accounts  which  explain 
the  variation  in  the  percentage  of  crime.  In  Luzerne  county, 
the  judges  have  called  the  justices  of  the  peace  to  account  for 
their  lax  way  of  conducting  court,  and  some  of  the  most  un- 
scrupulous have  been  prosecuted.  This  has  had  a  salutary 
effect  and  the  number  of  cases  returned  has  been  materially  re- 
duced. Then  again  in  the  towns  of  Ed  wards  ville  and  Nanti- 
coke  the  burgesses  tried  more  cases  than  did  the  justices  of  the 
peace.  In  Olyphant,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  an  exception  for 
a  burgess  to  try  a  case ;  the  justices  of  the  peace  try  all  the  cases. 
In  Nanticoke  and  Shenandoah,  we  did  not  succeed  in  getting 
all  the  cases  tried,  while  in  the  former  town  a  six  months' 
strike  had  occurred  in  one  of  the  largest  collieries  and  one  of 
the  justices  said,  "  Business  used  to  be  twice  as  good  as  it  is 
now ;  the  people  have  no  money  to  go  to  litigation."  From  a 
careful  calculation  of  the  number  of  cases  tried  before  justices  of 
the  peace  and  burgesses  in  the  above-mentioned  towns  we 
found  that,  under  normal  industrial  conditions,  there  was  one 
case  entered  for  every  20  members  of  the  population,  which 
means,  when  we  consider  that  there  are  two  persons  implicated 
in  each  suit,  that  one  person  out  of  every  ten  of  our  population 
was  involved  in  a  law-suit  of  some  kind.  The  number  of  law- 
suits instituted  in  the  United  States  for  the  year  1900  was  one 
to  every  22  of  the  population,  which  was  also  the  number  re- 
corded in  Great  Britain  during  the  same  year.  The  costs  of 
suits  in  local  courts  ranges  from  $3  to  $6.  If  we  take  an 
average  of  $4.50  there  would  be  spent  annually  in  litigation  by 
the  mining  population  of  our  territory  about  $100,000.  Most 
of  this  is  spent  by  the  Sclavs  and,  in  view  of  this  inexcusable 
waste,  there  is  no  wonder  that  their  spiritual  leaders  have  taken 
steps  to  protect  their  flocks  from  the  political  wolves  clothed 
with  a  brief  authority  that  grow  fat  upon  the  ignorance  and 
frailties  of  these  immigrants.  It  is  also  a  hopeful  sign  that  the 
Miners'  Union  has  brought  Sclav  and  Saxon  closer  together,  so 
that  they  know  each  other  better  and  the  result  is  fewer  suits 
of  law. 

The  nationality  of  the  persons  charged  with  crime  may  be 


282 


ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 


judged  from  the  following  table,  which  is  as  accurate  as  tl 
knowledge  of  the  justices  of  the  peace  who  gave  the  inform 
tion.     We  give  also  the  percentage  of  population  belonging 
the  Sclav  and  Anglo-Saxon. 


Place. 


Percentage  of 
Sclav  Criminals. 


Percentage  of 
Sclav  Population, 


Excess  of 
Crime. 


Nan  ti  coke 

Edwardsville . . 

Olyphant 

Mahanoy  City , 
Shenandoah.... 
Mt.  Carmel 


63.5% 

66.3 

58.8 

67.3 

79.6 

64.8 


50% 

45 

30 

40 

60 

45 


13.5% 

21.3 

28.8 

27.3 

19.6 

19.8 


Average 


69.2 


45 


21.7 


This  excess  of  crime  among  the  Sclavs  is  explained  by  the 
social  condition  and  the  excess  of  males  over  females  amoi 
them.  In  the  chapter  on  population  we  found  that  there  we 
over  30,000  more  males  than  females  among  the  foreign  boi 
in  the  anthracite  coal  fields.  This  excess  of  males  is  large 
found  among  Sclavs.  Young  men  with  strong  natures,  f 
away  from  the  wholesome  influence  of  home  life  and  surroundc 
by  saloons,  are  liable  to  break  forth  into  excesses  which  lead 
crimes  and  their  consequences  —  litigation  and  imprison  mec 
It  is  also  true  that  the  offices  of  justices  of  the  peace  are  almo 
wholly  in  the  hands  of  the  English-speaking,  and  hitherto  tl 
Anglo-Saxon  has  not  spared  the  Sclav  the  vexation  and  expen 
of  a  lawsuit.  This  class  of  our  citizens,  however,  are  organi 
ing  themselves  into  clubs  and  are  a  power  at  the  polls,  so  th 
the  political  office-grabbers  are  more  considerate  than  was  the 
wont  in  the  treatment  of  the  Sclav. 

As  to  the  nature  of  the  crimes,  we  have  in  mining  towns 
the  Northern  coal  fields  67.5  per  cent,  against  persons  ai 
32.5  against  property ;  and  in  the  Southern  coal  fields  \ 
have  66.1  per  cent,  against  persons  and  33.9  against  propert 
In  each  of  the  mining  towns  examined,  assault  and  batte: 
led  the  list  of  crimes  and  formed  on  an  average  50  per  cent, 
the  whole.  In  the  town  of  Shamokin,  in  the  summer  of  190 
three  husbands  murdered  their  wives  and  two  others  attemptc 
murder.     One  of  the  judges  of  Northumberland  county  sa 


OUR   CRIMINALS.  283 

that,  in  the  last  20  years,  96  murders  were  committed  and  only- 
one  of  the  murderers  was  hanged.  In  the  first  20  years  of  the 
existence  of  Lackawanna  county,  notwithstanding  106  murders 
were  committed,  all  the  perpetrators  save  two  escaped  the  gal- 
lows. In  Schuylkill  county  since  1880,  84  persons  were 
charged  with  murder  and  6  convicted,  while  50  other  mur- 
derers escaped  the  vigilance  of  the  officers.*  Murderers  among 
Sclavs  frequently  make  their  escape.  Pay-night  in  a  mining 
camp  where  Sclavs  live  is  generally  the  occasion  for  dissipation  ; 
over  their  cups  they  fight  and  when  one  of  the  number  is 
killed,  the  assailant  makes  good  his  escape  before  the  authorities 
are  notified  of  the  murder.  When  the  brute  is  aroused  in  the 
Sclav  by  a  mixture  of  whisky  and  lager,  he  becomes  more 
fierce  than  the  red-toothed  beast  of  prey.  The  Sclav,  how- 
ever, is  improving.  A  justice  of  the  peace,  who  had  been  in 
office  for  10  years  in  a  town  where  they  formed  the  majority  of 
the  population,  said  that  crime  is  perceptibly  diminishing 
among  them.  They  feel  the  touch  of  a  higher  civilization. 
More  homes  are  established  by  them ;  their  priests  are  better 
versed  in  the  laws  and  institutions  of  our  country  than  they 
were  10  or  15  years  ago ;  there  is  less  crowding  among  the 
bachelors  ;  a  larger  number  of  them  annually  becomes  citizens 
and  property  holders  ;  and  the  public  school  trains  their  chil- 
dren in  a  higher  life  than  that  in  which  their  parents  grew  in 
the  fatherland.  The  wrongs  inflicted  upon  the  Sclavs  in  these 
local  courts  long  prevailed,  and  many  were  the  hard  lessons 
taught  them  by  the  injustice  of  avaricious  justices  of  the  peace. 
A  better  day  has  dawned  and  we  all  look  forward  to  a  better 
type  of  manhood  and  womanhood  among  the  Sclavs  as  they 
realize  more  and  more  the  responsibility  of  citizenship  and 
more  fully  perceive  the  blessings  they  enjoy  in  a  government 
for  the  people  and  by  the  people. 

The  English-speaking  portion  of  our  population  is  also  given 

*  The  officers  of  Schuylkill  are  at  present  offering  rewards  amounting  to 
$5,000  for  the  apprehension  of  persons  guilty  of  murder.  A  record  of  19 
murders  in  17  months  ought  to  move  the  government  to  vigorous  action.  In 
the  last  two  years  and  a  half  no  less  than  76  murders  have  been  committed  in 
the  three  coonties,  Lackawanna,  Luzerne  and  Schuylkill. 


284  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

to  crime.  One  of  the  results  incident  to  the  change  in  popula- 
tion in  these  coal  fields  is  that  many  of  the  best  citizens  of  min- 
ing towns  migrate,  so  that  in  proportion  to  the  number  left  the 
thriftless  and  dissipated  form  a  larger  percentage  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  population  than  in  former  years.  This  shiftless  class 
stays  here  and  multiplies,  and  many  of  them  are  deeper  in  licen- 
tiousness and  vice  than  the  lower  stratum  of  the  Sclav.  Of  962 
English-speaking  criminals  in  the  towns  above  mentioned  dur- 
ing the  year  1900,  449,  or  46.6  per  cent.,  was  credited  to  the 
English  and  American ;  105,  or  10.8  per  cent.,  to  the  German 
276,  or  28.6  per  cent.,  to  the  Irish ;  and  133,  or  14  per  cent., 
to  the  Welsh.  We  have  no  accurate  means  of  ascertaining  the 
percentage  of  the  population  which  each  of  these  peoples  forms 
in  the  towns  specified.  As  far  as  observation  goes  the  percen- 
tage of  crime  among  the  English-speaking  nations  is  about  equal. 
The  Anglo-Saxon  and  German  have  a  great  advantage  ovei 
the  Sclav  and  Italian.  All  the  varied  enjoyments  devised  tc 
break  the  monotony  of  daily  life  are  open  to  them,  while  mosi 
of  them  have  been  born  and  raised  in  our  country,  and  the  ad- 
vantages, pleasures  and  diversities  of  a  higher  life  invite  them 
to  participate  of  its  richness.  All  this  is  closed  to  the  Sclav. 
He  is  in  a  new  country  and  among  a  strange  people  of  a  strange 
tongue.  He  is  the  child  of  a  lower  civilization  than  ours,  and 
has  grown  in  an  environment  not  so  favorable  to  the  develop- 
ment of  manhood  as  ours.  It  is  not  strange  the  Sclav  should 
seek  diversion  from  arduous  toil  and  the  routine  of  a  narrow 
and  monotonous  life  by  frequenting  the  saloon  and  diversions 
which  are  repulsive  to  a  people  of  a  higher  social  status.  But 
the  Sclav  is  on  the  way  to  a  higher  and  broader  life,  and  the 
strong  physique,  the  thrift,  the  reverence  for  law  and  amen- 
ability to  discipline  of  these  people  is  a  promising  soil  to  plani 
the  seeds  of  a  higher  civilization. 

Crime  Among   Farmers   and   Miners  —  A  Comparison. 

A  family,  which  moved  from  a  rural  community  in  1901 
and  settled  in  one  of  our  mining  towns,  expressed  great  aston- 
ishment at  the  lax  ideas  of  propriety  in  the  relation  of  the  sexes 


OUR  CRIMINALS.  285 

that  prevailed ;  the  vulgarity  common  in  the  conduct  of  those 
whom  they  met ;  the  profanity  and  drunkenness  heard  and  seen 
on  the  streets,  and  the  low  standard  of  morality  and  decency 
prevailing  in  the  town  where  now  they  live.  They  felt  thank- 
ful that  they  had  no  young  children  to  be  raised  in  "  such  a 
town  as  this."  They  longed  for  the  day  when  they  could  again 
dwell  in  the  quiet  country  village  where  the  sense  of  propriety 
and  decorum  attained  a  higher  level  than  in  the  mining  town. 
There  is  a  difference  between  the  two  communities,  and  pos- 
sibly the  best  expression  of  this  is  the  docket  of  a  justice  of  the 
peace  of  a  rural  town  as  compared  with  that  of  a  mining  town. 
For  the  purpose  of  comparison  we  consulted  the  dockets  of  the 
town  of  Norwich  *  in  the  State  of  New  York,  which,  taking  in 
the  scattered  population  in  the  surrounding  country,  approaches 
Olyphant  in  the  number  of  persons  residing  there. 

The  population  of  Norwich  is  of  American  stock  and  homo- 
geneous. In  the  fall  of  the  year  many  people  come  to  this 
town  to  work  during  the  hop  season.  Also,  when  industrial 
depression  invades  the  eastern  section  of  our  State,  the  number 
of  vagrants  invading  country  villages  largely  increases  and  the 
number  of  arrests  for  vagrancy  is  larger.  In  the  fall  of  1897 
the  industries  of  northeastern  Pennsylvania  had  not  revived 
from  the  depression  which  paralyzed  the  business  of  the  country 
for  some  years  previous.  In  1900  we  were  completely  over 
the  crisis  and  all  willing  hands  could  find  employment.  In  the 
fall  of  1897  there  were  158  arrests  for  vagrancy  in  Norwich 
and  in  1900  only  24.  The  large  number  of  arrests  for  vagrancy 
in  the  former  year  swelled  the  number  of  crimes  to  384,  while 
in  1900  the  number  was  233.  Vagrancy  cannot  be  laid  to  the 
homogeneous  population  of  Norwich,  so  we  leave  it  out  of  the 
count.  In  mining  towns  this  crime  is  seldom  met  with.  Out 
of  over  2,830  cases  investigated  in  mining  towns  we  did  not 
meet  one  for  vagrancy.  With  this  elimination  we  have  then  in 
Norwich  226  crimes  in  1897  and  209  in  1900,  or  an  average 
during  these  two  years  of  one  crime  for  every  32  persons.     Of 

*  In  the  last  census  Norwich  town,  including  village,  has  a  population  of 
7.004. 


286  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

the  226  and  209  crimes  in  the  years  specified,  162  and  154 
were  arrests  for  drunkenness.  In  the  2,830  cases  read  on  the 
dockets  of  justices  of  the  peace  in  mining  towns  we  only  found 
one  of  them  attributed  to  drunkenness.  To  get  drunk  is  no 
crime  in  mining  towns.  If  it  were,  many  of  our  burgesses, 
policemen  and  justices  of  the  peace  would  be  frequently  char- 
geable. It  is  a  frequent  sight  to  see  men  in  broad  daylight  on 
a  Sabbath  day  drunk  on  our  streets,  and  the  mothers,  for  di- 
version, bring  their  children  to  see  the  antics  of  the  inebriate 
as  he  goes  home.  There  is  not  so  much  drunkenness  in  a  rural 
village  as  in  a  mining  town,  and  yet  162  and  154  are  arrested 
for  drunkenness  in  the  former  and  virtually  none  in  the  latter. 
Suppose  we  eliminate  these  again  from  the  crimes  in  a  rural 
district,  then  we  have  in  1897,  64  offenses  and  in  1900,  55  or 
an  average  of  8.5  per  1,000  population. 

The  cases  of  drunkenness  referred  to  in  Norwich  took  place 
for  the  greater  part  in  the  fall  of  the  year  ;  the  season  when 
farmers  bring  in  their  harvests  "  rejoicing."  Once  a  year  these 
sons  of  the  soil  dissipate  and  have  a  "  good  time."  There  is 
periodicity  observed  also  in  the  drink  habit  of  mine  employees, 
but  it  is  every  pay-day  with  them  and  since  the  two  weeks'  pay 
a  large  number  of  men  have  a  "  good  time  "  twice  as  often  as 
formerly. 

Of  the  crimes  recorded  on  the  docket  of  a  rural  town  drunk- 
enness forms  72  per  cent,  and  assault  and  battery  9  per  cent. 
In  mining  towns  drunkenness  is  out  of  the  count  and  assault 
and  battery  forms  58.3  per  cent.  Almost  all  of  these  assaults 
are  committed  when  the  passions  are  inflamed  by  spirituous 
liquors.*     The  list  of  weapons  used  in  committing  the  assaults 

*  The  percentage  of  crime  due  to  drink  in  these  coal  fields  has  been  vari- 
ously estimated.  Col.  H.  M.  Boise  has  placed  it  at  75  per  cent.  Others 
place  it  at  70  per  cent.  In  " Economic  Aspects  of  the  Liquor  Problem"  we 
read  :  **  As  a  final  result  we  learn  that  intemperance  was  on  the  average  a 
cause  of  crime  in  49.95  per  cent,  of  13,402  convicts,  while  as  a  principal 
cause  intemperance  occurred  on  the  average  in  31.18  per"  cent,  of  all  cases.  ^' 
Intemperance  as  a  cause  of  crime  can  be  best  studied  in  local  courts  and  to 
take  the  percentage  of  crime  due  to  this  cause  from  the  returns  of  peniten- 
tiaries is  misleading  if  we  want  to  find  the  social  effect  of  intemperance  as  a 
factor  in  crime.     Professional  criminals  are  temperate,  but  the  men  who 


OUR   CRIMINALS.  287 

by  persons  in  mining  towns  shows  how  devoid  they  are  of  self- 
control.  Among  the  implements  mentioned  are,  stone,  knife, 
revolver,  razor,  bar,  sprag,  chain,  dinner-pail,  axe,  lead-pipe, 
cuspidor,  hammer,  chisel,  bolt,  hatchet,  pick,  shovel,  etc.  Any- 
thing the  hand  can  lay  hold  of  in  the  excitement  of  the  moment 
is  used,  and  when  no  object  is  available  they  use  their  teeth  and 
boots.  Accounts  of  some  of  the  fights  among  the  Sclavs  show 
them  to  be  so- brutal  and  savage  that  the  sensitive  is  sickened 
when  they  are  rehearsed.  Men  are  not  the  only  guilty  ones  ; 
females,  when  they  are  enraged,  are  also  found  as  fierce  and 
blood-thirsty  as  the  men.  Many  women  are  brought  before  the 
local  courts  charged  with  threats  :  some  of  the  cases  are  :  threat 
to  break  the  leg  of  her  neighbor;  threat  to  strike  out  her 
neighbor's  teeth ;  to  drive  a  knife  through  her  neighbor ;  to 
blow  up  her  neighbor's  house  with  dynamite,  etc.  Women  and 
mothers  here  threaten  to  commit  outrages  in  words  which  would 
shock  a  rural  community  even  if  the  most  confirmed  tough  were 
bo  utter  them.  The  dockets  of  mining  towns,  on  almost  every 
page,  are  repellent  because  of  deeds  due  to  unrestrained  passion, 
indulgence  of  vicious  propensities  and  outbursts  of  brutal  sav- 
igery.  The  story  is  very  dificrent  while  perusing  the  criminal 
iocket  of  a  rural  justice  of  the  peace. 

The  comparison  of  the  disposition  of  the  cases  is  also  very 
suggestive.  The  following  table  shows  the  disposition  made  by 
■Jbe  justice  of  the  peace  in  Norwich  : 


Disposition. 

1897. 

1900. 

Sentences  Suspended 

104  or  27.08% 

79  or  33.90% 

Discharged 

160  or  41.66 

51  or  21.88 

Sentenced 

112  or  29.16 

99  or  42.49 

Returned 

8  or    2.10 

4  or    1.73 

Total 

384  or  100% 

233  or  100% 

The  average  returned  to  court  from  this  office  in  the  above 

juarrel  in  their  cups  fight,  and,  although  two  or  three  lawsuits  may  be  the 
esult,  yet,  when  the  heat  of  conflict  is  over,  the  men  will  settle  the  quar- 
•el  and  not  go  to  court.  In  mining  towns  the  percentage  of  crime  due  to 
Irink  is  between  55  and  60.  The  variation  is  due  to  the  nature  of  the  popu- 
ation.  In  towns  where  the  Sclavs  form  a  considerable  portion  of  the  popa- 
ation  it  is  higher  than  in  towns  where  the  English-speaking  inhabitants  pre- 
)onderate. 


288  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

years  was  1.91  per  cent,  of  all  the  cases  tried,  but  the  avera 
percentage  returned  to  court  from  the  offices  of  the  justices 
the  peace  in  mining  towns  was  48.44.  The  suspended  s€ 
tence,  so  often  exercised  by  the  New  York  justice  of  the  pea 
is  unknown  in  mining  towns.  We  believe  if  it  were  exi 
cised  by  our  peace  officials  that  the  effect  would  be  far  beti 
upon  many  of  these  weak  men  than  a  commitment  to  prison 
await  trial  or  to  discharge  a  sentence.  The  rural  justice  of  t 
peace  is  kept  busy  during  the  fall  of  the  year,  but  at  otl 
seasons  he  has  little  to  do.  Those  in  mining  towns  have  abc 
the  same  number  of  cases  the  year  round,  month  after  mor 
bringing  its  unfailing  crop  of  deeds  of  violence  as  regularly 
the  mine  employees  receive  their  pay. 

The  above  comparison  explains  in  part  the  difference  felt 
the  family  above  referred  to  when  it  moved  into  one  of  c 
towns  from  an  agricultural  village.  If  this  difference  is  to 
attributed  to  one  cause  more  than  another,  it  is  to  the  dri 
habit,  which  destroys  moral  fiber,  blunts  the  moral  sensibil: 
and  lets  loose  upon  society  the  animal  propensities.  This 
not  the  only  cause,  however.  The  occupation  of  digging  a 
is  dirty  and  disagreeable.  Its  effect  is  everywhere  seen,  a 
although  the  workers  wash  ever  so  clean,  anyone  familiar  w: 
miners  will  always  know  them  though  dressed  in  their  "  Su 
day  clothes."  They  inevitably  lead  a  coarse  life  and  althou 
thousands  among  our  mine  employees  are  as  well  versed  in  i 
qualities  of  gentleness,  veracity,  honor,  decency  and  reverei 
as  any  class  of  working  men  in  any  part  of  the  country,  ; 
another  large  portion  of  them  live  in  associations  that  are 
cious,  habits  that  are  demoralizing,  conversation  that  is  defilii 
and  a  moral  standard  that  is  far  from  the  level  of  that  chalt 
out  by  the  Christian  conscience. 

Our  Boys  and  Girls  Who  Go  Wrong. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1900  there  were  1,553  juvenile  ( 
linquents  in  the  reformatories  of  the  State,  not  counting  \ 
513  in  the  Huntingdon  Industrial  Reformatory.  The  avert 
age  of  the  1,553  young  transgressors  was  14.6  years.     The  7 


OUR  CRIMINALS.  289 

committed  to  these  institutions  in  the  year  1900  are  classified 
according  to  ages  -as  follows  : 

Ages.  Number. 

Between  7  and  9  years,  12 

"       9  and  11  ''  79 

"      11  and  13  "  168 

"      13  and  15  ''  250 

**      15  and  20  "  271 

Of  these  young  criminals  103  or  13.2  per  cent,  was  foreign 
born,  669  or  85.8  per  cent,  native  born  and  there  were  8  whose 
birthplace  was  unknown.  In  the  year  1890  the  moneys  spent 
by  the  State  upon  the  Huntingdon  Industrial  Reformatory,  the 
Home  of  Refuge  and  the  Reform  School  amounted  to  $188,- 
534,  while  the  expenditures  in  1900  amounted  to  $479,598.19. 
The  total  of  young  criminals  in  the  reformatories  of  the  State 
was  2,066  or  340  per  million  population,  and  each  of  these 
costs  the  State  an  average  of  $242  per  annum.  Of  the  youths 
in  our  State  between  10  and  20  years,  2.06  per  1,000  are  in 
State  Reformatories  kept  at  public  expense.  Beside  these  insti- 
tutions there  are  many  others  maintained  by  private  corpora- 
tions and  individuals,  where  the  incorrigible  and  delinquent  are 
kept. 

In  the  anthracite  coal  fields  there  are  the  "  Home  for  Chil- 
dren ^'  in  Pottsville,  the  "  Home  of  the  Good  Shepherd  "  and 
the  "Home  of  the  Friendless"  in  Wilkesbarre,  and  in 
Scranton  the  "  House  of  the  Good  Shepherd,"  the  "  Home  of 
the  Friendless,"  "  St.  Joseph's  Foundling  Asylum,"  and  the 
"  St.  Patrick's  Orphanage  Asylum."  In  these  institutions- 
there  were  762  persons  in  January,  1901,  and  the  sumof  $51,- 
575.22  spent  in  their  maintenance  for  the  year  1900.  They 
are  the  homeless,  dependent  and  delinquent,  although  we  can- 
not say  how  many  of  them  belong  to  the  latter  class.  Some 
juvenile  delinquents  are  also  kept  in  county  jails,  a  practice 
against  which  the  Secretary  of  Public  Charities  has  protested, 
calling  it  criminal,  and  thrice  so  is  it  when  these  boys  are  not 
separated  from  adult  prisoners. 

In  the  year  1900  there  were  in  the  reformatories  of  the  State 
122  juvenile  delinquents  from  the  three  counties,  Lackawanna, 
20 


290  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

Luzerne  and  Schuylkill.     Of  these  88  were  boys  and  32  girls, 
and  they  cost  nearly  $22,000  for  maintenance. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  get  the  exact  number  of  juvenile  de- 
linquents in  our  territory  for  the  reason  that  benevolent  insti- 
tutions intervene  whose  agents  take  charge  of  the  children. 
But  those  who  have  resided  for  some  years  in  these  coal 
fields  and  have  given  attention  to  this  question  know  that  this 
class  of  transgressors  is  large.  In  one  of  our  towns  a  few 
years  ago  three  boys,  from  12  to  16  years  of  age,  started  fires 
in  four  places  on  the  same  night.  The  wind  was  high  and 
they  selected  the  location  for  three  starts  out  of  four,  where,  if 
the  prompt  action  of  the  fire  companies  had  not  extinguished 
the  flames  the  whole  town  would  have  been  reduced  to  ashes. 
They  succeeded,  however,  in  destroying  that  night  property 
valued  at  $50,000.  In  another  town  a  young  girl  of  15  years 
of  age  was  reprimanded  by  her  father  for  walking  the  streets 
at  two  and  three  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  following  day 
she  took  carbolic  acid  and  left  a  note  wishing  her  friends  good- 
bye and  saying  "  she  was  going  to  Jesus."  In  another  town  a 
gang  of  boys,  regularly  organized  for  criminal  purposes,  com- 
mitted many  robberies  and  for  months  succeeded  in  eluding  the 
officers.  The  climax  was  reached,  when  in  broad  daylight, 
they  held  up  a  young  lad  and  robbed  him  of  the  pay  he  had 
just  drawn.  Their  retreat  was  traced  to  an  old  working  in  an 
abandoned  mine  in  close  proximity  to  the  town,  where  they 
stowed  away  many  of  the  articles  stolen.  In  another  town 
three  boys  between  14  and  16  years  were  arrested  for  attempted 
rape  under  circumstances  which  reminded  one  of  the  savagery 
of  primitive  people.  Three  other  boys  were  recently  arrested 
charged  with  robbery  and  attempted  murder.  The  boys  of  one 
of  our  breakers  were  promised  a  sleigh-ride  by  the  outside 
superintendent  of  the  colliery.  The  date  was  fixed  but  a 
thaw  came  and  the  pleasure  had  to  be  postponed.  The  boys 
got  angry,  upset  the  company's  wagons,  took  their  sleighs 
away  a  distance  of  two  miles  and  the  next  morning  went  on 
strike.  Three  boys,  from  7  to  1 1  years  of  age,  in  one  of  our 
cities,  held  up,  at  the  point  of  a  revolver,  a  young  girl  and 


OUR  CRIMINALS.  291 

robbed  her  of  her  pay.  One  of  the  most  notorious  criminals 
in  the  Eastern  States,  whose  picture  is  in  the  rogue's  gallery, 
served  his  apprenticeship  in  crime  in  one  of  our  towns,  and 
recently  the  authorities  traced  a  gang  of  thieves  which  had 
committed  many  depredations  in  mining  towns  of  the  anthra- 
cite coal  fields  to  the  very  town  in  which  this  desperate  char- 
acter was  born. 

Bastardy  and  drunkenness  are  frequent.  In  a  mining  camp 
of  not  over  400  population,  five  young  girls  gave  birth  to  chil- 
dren out  of  wedlock  in  the  last  three  years.  Ten  girls  are  in 
trouble  in  one  of  our  towns  at  present  as  the  result  of  the 
soldiers'  encampment  of  the  summer  of  1902.  On  summer 
evenings  it  is  nothing  unusual  to  find  young  girls  parading  the 
lonely  walks  near  mining  towns  until  past  midnight.  In  some 
instances  their  shameless  conduct  reminds  one  of  conditions 
which  must  have  prevailed  at  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  or  the  prac- 
tices which  prevailed  in  the  groves  surrounding  the  temple  of 
Aphrodite.  In  all  our  towns  there  are  '*  chippies  "  and  some 
saloons  open  their  doors  to  trafiickers  in  lewdness.  When  one 
of  these  young  girls  was  asked  if  she  was  not  afraid,  her  reply 
was  :  "  Not  as  long  as  the  drug  store  is  handy."  Men  in  a 
position  to  know  say  that  many  of  our  young  boys  are 
^iven  to  practices  which  undermine  their  health.  Two  boys 
^ere  seen  perpetrating  onanism  on  the  streets  of  one  of  our 
owns.  Doctors  and  druggists  frequently  have  patients  who 
ire  victims  of  this  vice  and  who  find  relief  in  early  marriage. 

Many  of  these  evils  arise  from  the  want  of  moral  sensitive- 
less  in  the  homes  in  which  these  boys  are  raised.  The  relation 
)f  the  sexes  is  not  what  it  ought  to  be.  The  prospect  of  mar- 
iage  is  frequently  made  to  excuse  licentiousness.  One  of  the 
)astors  of  our  towns  said  :  "  In  most  of  my  weddings  I  marry 
hree  and  not  two."  The  moral  and  religious  training  of 
ouths  raised  in  mining  patches  is  woefully  neglected  and  the 
onsequence  is  the  irregularities  which  exist.  Others  raised  in 
ileness  and  unable  to  get  positions  to  suit  them  out  of  the 
nines  drift  into  crime.  The  boys  are  not  taught  trades  for 
here  are  no  facilities  for  such  teaching.   We  have  no  industrial 


292  ANTHRACITE   COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

schools.  If  a  boy  commits  a  crime  and  is  sent  to  the  Indus- 
trial Reformatory,  he  has  a  chance  to  learn  a  trade,  but  if  he 
is  a  good  boy  and  stays  at  home  the  chances  are  19  to  1  that 
he  will  be  compelled  to  enter  the  mines  for  a  livelihood. 

A  man  of  considerable  experience  in  ferreting  out  crime  once 
said  :  "  The  greatest  curse  of  these  towns  is  the  slot  machine.'' 
A  close  watch  on  pay -night  of  one  of  the  stores  where  these 
gambling  devices  are  located  will  confirm  the  above  statement. 
Boys  from  ten  to  twenty  years  of  age,  when  they  have  money, 
cluster  around  these  and,  infatuated  with  the  whirl  and  click  of 
the  machine,  they  stand  there  until  the  last  penny  is  spent,  and 
then  curse  the  machine.  They  will  steal  from  the  home,  take 
money  from  their  pay,  borrow  from  their  friends,  and  devise 
cunning  schemes  whereby  they  may  get  the  means  to  carry  on 
the  game.  All  their  mind  is  concentrated  upon  it.  They  cal- 
culate and  watch  the  revolutions  of  the  machine  with  the  inten- 
sity of  the  hound  after  its  prey.  If  they  win  their  joy  is 
great,  but  though  they  win  they  leave  not.  There  they  stay 
staking  again  the  gain  in  further  chances  until  at  length  every 
penny  is  spent  and  they  are  "  dead  broke."  Nothing  in  these 
towns  fosters  the  gambling  tendency  as  do  these  slot  machines. 
They  are  the  greatest  breeders  of  crime  known  in  these  com- 
munities. 

The  amount  of  money  spent  on  these,  as  in  every  other  busi- 
ness, varies.  One  saloonist,  pointing  to  a  machine,  said  :  "  That 
brought  me  $35  yesterday.''  That  was  the  maximum  he  ever 
realized  in  one  day.  An  ordinary  pay-day  would  net  him  from 
$8  to  $12.  The  gains  depend  partly  upon  the  nature  of  the 
machine  and  the  wealth  of  the  players.  Boys  on  an  average 
spend  from  50  cents  to  a  dollar  each  pay-day ;  young  men 
spend  from  $1  to  $3.  Men  infatuated  with  the  machine  are 
known  to  spend  $5  in  chances,  while  a  foolhardy  Pole  "  broke  " 
the  record,  as  far  as  we  have  heard  —  he  stood  before  the 
machine  all  day  and  spent  $30. 

Among  the  patrons  of  these  machines  are  found  representa- 
tives of  all  nationalities.  The  Irish  seem  to  be  in  the  lead 
while  the  Poles  show  a  strong  tendency  to  games  of  chance. 


OUR  CRIMINALS.  293 

A  man  who  ran  four  of  them  said  :  "  Young  America  is  very 
fond  of  the  slot  machine/'  Those  who  play,  as  a  rule,  do  not 
indulge  in  intoxicants.  When  machines  were  kept  in  saloons, 
it  was  nothing  unusual  to  see  a  company  of  young  men  going 
from  saloon  to  saloon  to  play  at  the  machines,  and  still  not 
touching  drink.  These  young  players  are  superstitious.  Almost 
every  one  of  them  has  his  favorite  machine ;  on  that  he  will 
stake  and  on  no  other.  When  players  lose,  it  is  curious  how 
they  personify  the  machine  or  believe  it  influenced  by  powers 
which  bring  them  bad  luck.  Some  Sclavs  curse  the  machine 
when  they  have  lost  much  and  threaten  to  smash  the  idol. 
Others  look  upon  the  machine  as  a  pure  piece  of  mechanism 
which  can  be  manipulated  to  order.  Some  of  these  boys  "  beat " 
the  machine.  One  of  them  manipulated  it  with  a  wire  and 
stopped  the  wheel  each  time  at  a  point  where  returns  were 
secured.  Another  proprietor  opened  one  of  his  machines  after 
pay-day  and  found  among  800  pennies  about  400  washers. 
These  the  boys  had  purchased  in  a  hardware  store,  three  dozen 
for  five  cents,  and  found  them  "  to  work  like  a  charm." 

Machines,  when  first  introduced  into  the  Wyoming  and 
Lackawanna  valleys,  were,  for  the  greater  part,  managed  by  a 
corporation.  They  were  placed  in  saloons  and  the  profits 
equally  divided  between  the  owner  of  the  machine  and  the 
saloonist.  It  was  a  paying  business,  and  soon  many  saloonists 
bought  machines  of  their  own  and  secured  all  the  profits.  It 
is  claimed  that  from  40  to  60  per  cent,  of  the  money  staked  is 
profit. 

The  slot  machines  in  saloons,  however,  soon  became  so  great 
an  evil  that  the  courts  of  the  several  counties  insisted  upon 
their  removal.  The  crusade  began  about  three  years  ago.  In 
Schuylkill  County  each  saloon  keeper  has  to  swear,  when  he 
applies  for  license,  that  he  has  no  slot  machine  on  the  premises. 
In  Lackawanna  and  Luzerne  counties  the  constables  in  making 
their  returns  are  placed  under  oath  that,  as  far  as  their  knowl- 
edge goes,  no  slot  machine  is  in  any  saloon  within  their  territory. 
This  crusade  instituted  by  the  courts  has  resulted  in  banishing 
the  machines  from  public  houses,  but  they  are  still  found  in 


294  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

cigar  and  tobacco  stores,  in  candy  and  barber  shops,  etc.  There 
are  some  machines  still  kept  in  saloons,  but  they  are  secreted 
and  only  for  the  use  of  private  parties.  In  many  of  the  min- 
ing towns  in  the  Northern  and  Middle  coal  fields  the  click  oi 
the  machine  may  still  be  heard  in  saloons. 

In  candy  and  barber  shops,  cigar  and  tobacco  stores,  the 
machines  are  operated  without  interference.  This  is  in  violation 
of  state  law  and  it  is  difficult  to  see  why  the  courts  permit  what 
they  regarded  as  an  evil  in  saloons,  to  run  unmolested  when 
the  location  is  changed.  The  stern  hand  of  the  law  should 
remove  this  source  of  corruption  in  mining  towns.  The  slot 
machine  is  the  greatest  curse  now  existing  among  our  youths. 
Those  in  charge  of  the  machines  observe  no  days  or  seasons. 
The  wheel  goes  on  Sunday  as  well  as  on  week  days  and,  in 
many  instances,  the  first  day  of  the  week  is  the  favorite  of  the 
players.  While  the  officers  of  the  law  slumber  the  gambling 
evil  grows.  In  a  picnic  held  last  summer  in  a  mining  town  of 
13,000  population,  no  less  than  $570  were  staked  on  the  wheel. 

There  is  very  little  prize-fighting  or  dog-fighting  in  our  min- 
ing towns.  Those  inclined  to  sport  find  their  chief  diversion 
in  quoits,  shooting  matches,  and  in  cock-fighting.  These  are 
chiefly  patronized  by  youths  of  Anglo-Saxon  extraction,  and 
are  invariably  associated  with  certain  saloons  whose  proprietors 
are  the  leaders  in  the  sport.  The  stakes  in  quoit  matches  gen- 
erally go  up  to  about  $25.  Shooting  matches  are  arranged  for 
$100  to  $200.  The  stakes  in  cock-fighting  seldom  pass  over 
$50.  The  number  witnessing  the  sport  depends  upon  the  popu- 
larity of  the  persons  interested.  In  shooting  matches  a  crowd  of 
several  hundred  assembles.  When  a  "  main  of  cocks  ''  is  pitted 
the  number  present  depends  upon  the  capacity  of  the  room  and 
the  publicity  of  the  affiiir.  In  boroughs,  cock-fighting  is  gen- 
erally kept  secret,  for  the  constables  interfere.  Some  saloons, 
however,  have  cock-pits  in  their  cellars  where  matches  are  fre- 
quently carried  out.  As  a  rule,  matches  are  arranged  in  mining 
towns  outside  borough  limits.  In  a  town  of  Schuylkill  county, 
a  company  of  these  men  bought  an  old  school-house  for  the 
expressed  purpose  of  cock-fighting  and,  from  November  until 


OUR   CRIMINALS.  295 

April,  hardly  a  week  passes  but  a  match  or  two  takes  place, 
where  on  an  average  about  200  persons  are  assembled. 

All  ages  follow  these  contests.  Young  boys  of  13  side  by 
side  with  aged  men  may  be  seen  there.  In  none  of  these  sports 
is  the  passion  for  gambling  stirred  as  in  cock-fighting.  Quoits 
and  pigeon-shooting  are  tame  beside  it.  Around  the  pit  young 
boys  and  old  men  gather  and  become  roused  to  a  pitch  of  ex- 
citement seldom  seen  outside  halls  where  prize-fights  occur 
between  well-matched  contestants.  Much  betting  takes  place  : 
the  bets  range  from  ten  cents  to  as  many  dollars.  Boys  and 
young  men,  given  to  this  sport,  are  completely  carried  away 
and  sometimes  resort  to  unnatural  means  to  secure  money  for 
betting.  One  of  the  most  unnatural  victims  of  this  passion 
ever  known  to  us  was  a  young  man,  who  mercilessly  beat  his 
mother,  because  she  would  not  give  him  $10  to  sport  in  cock- 
fighting.  Another  man  kept  $5  from  his  pay  for  this  purpose. 
He  had  a  wife,  however,  who  suspected  him  of  sharp  practices. 
She  went  to  the  mine  foreman  to  find  out  the  amount  of  her 
husband's  pay  and  followed  him  to  where  the  cock-fighting  was 
carried  on.  She  brought  him  home  and  the  neighbors  say  it 
was  the  last  he  attended. 

The  winning  boy  appeals  to  all  men,  and  it  behooves  society 
to  put  forth  every  possible  efibrt  to  save  him.  Mayo-Smith 
has  said  :  "  Our  statistics  seem  to  show  that  the  second  genera- 
tion, that  is,  the  native  whites  of  foreign  parentage,  are  pecu- 
liarly subject  to  deteriorating  influences."  Anyone  familiar 
with  these  coal  fields  knows  that  to  be  true.  The  children  of 
Anglo-Saxon  immigrants  are  not  so  honest,  so  frugal,  so  moral 
as  their  parents  were,  and  the  same  tendency  to  degeneracy  is 
observed  in  the  native  born  of  Sclav  parents.  Hereditary 
traits  do  not  account  for  youthful  criminals.  They  are  rather 
the  product  of  bad  bringing  up.  It  has  been  observed  that 
children  who  become  criminals  have  been  raised  in  homes  where 
proper  restraint  and  moral  training  were  rare.  Many  of  these 
children  lose  both  or  one  of  their  parents  before  they  are  sixteen 
years  of  age.  The  youthful  delinquent  may  have  inherited 
more  than  the  ordinary  human  being's  share  of  mental  dullness 


296  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

and  incapacity,  but  the  one  factor  above  all  else  which  accounts 
for  his  conduct  is  bad  training,  and  where  good  training  has 
been  substituted  it  has  in  most  cases  brought  forth  the  fruits  of 
righteousness. 

In  the  year  1901  the  Legislature  of  our  State  passed  the 
Juvenile  Court  Act,  which  commits  to  the  judges  of  the  Court 
of  Quarter  Sessions  discretionary  powers  relative  to  juve- 
nile dependents  and  delinquents  tried  before  them,  and  author- 
izes them,  if  they  think  it  best  for  the  future  of  the  child, 
to  put  him  in  charge  of  a  probation  officer.  For  the  first  ten 
months  the  act  was  in  operation,  the  judges  were  called  upon 
to  deal  with  366  dependent  children  and  739  delinquents  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia  alone.  This  shows  the  great  need  of 
some  such  effort.  Last  February,  however,  this  laudable  at- 
tempt at  dealing  with  juvenile  law-breakers  was  declared  un- 
constitutional by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State.  It  was  a 
conscious  effort  on  the  part  of  philanthropists  to  prevent  delin- 
quents from  becoming  criminals,  by  placing  the  erring  one, 
who  is  too  young  yet  to  fully  realize  his  crime,  under  the 
restraining  and  guiding  hand  of  an  officer  of  the  court.  The 
good  done  by  Juvenile  Courts  has  been  testified  to  by  many 
public-spirited  citizens  and  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  ought  to 
get  the  benefit  of  such  an  act.  Miss  Minnie  F.  Low  in  a 
recent  address  said  that  in  the  city  of  Chicago  there  were  "  575 
boys  under  the  age  of  1 6  years  lodged  in  the  county  jail  each 
year  awaiting  the  action  of  the  grand  jury."  But  in  the  last 
three  years  "  since  the  establishing  of  the  Juvenile  Court,  in- 
stead of  575  we  have  averaged  less  than  20  boys  held  to  the 
criminal  courts  annually."  That  record  ought  to  commend 
the  Juvenile  Court  and  the  probation  officer  to  every  State  in 
the  Union,  and  the  Keystone  State  cannot  show  justice  and 
mercy  to  the  thousands  of  delinquents  within  its  borders  unless 
some  such  system  of  dealing  with  them  is  adopted.*  The  de- 
linquents invariably  come  from  among  the  poor  whose  parents 

*Law8,  drafted  by  competent  jurists,  were  passed  by  the  last  Legislature, 
providing  for  Juvenile  Courts  and  Probation  Officers,  which,  all  those  inter- 
ested in  juvenile  delinquents  hope,  will  meet  all  requirements. 


OUR   CRIMINALS.  297 

have  not  the  means  to  make  good  the  evil  wrought  by  the 
youth.  To  imprison  the  boy,  as  is  now  done  in  our  counties, 
is  a  crime.  What  we  need  is  the  restraining  influence  of  a 
prudent  person,  to  whose  watchful  care  the  boy  is  committed, 
who  can  advise  him  in  a  kind  spirit  and  still  have  behind  him 
the  power  of  the  law  to  command  respect.  Every  youth  de- 
serves the  protection  necessary  to  make  him  a  useful  member 
of  society.  Respect,  honesty,  and  reverence  are  the  factors 
needed  to  keep  these  boys  in  the  right  way. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

''  CHARITY  NEVER  FAILETH." 

1.  The  Liberality  of  Directors  of  Poor  Relief.    2.  How  Much  D 
THE  Coal  Companies  Give?    3.  Individual  Givers. 


The  Liberality  of  Directors  of  Poor  Relief. 

In  the  anthracite  coal  fields  there  are  ten  districts  in  whicl 
the  civil  authorities  dispense  aid  to  dependents  or  furnish  j 
home  to  them  where  they  are  wholly  kept  by  the  taxpayers  o 
the  district.  In  order  to  give  an  idea  of  the  number  of  depen 
dents  in  this  territory  we  give  the  following  table  compile( 
partly  from  the  report  of  the  State  Board  of  Charities  an( 
partly  from  personal  investigation : 


Poor  District. 


State. 


Schuylkill 

Coal  township.... 
Middle  coal  field. 

Central 

Ransom 

Scranton  

Blakely 

Carbondale 


Average. 


33,619 


1,273 

700 
2,135 
2,466(?) 

850 
1,611 

334 

200 


o  2'^ 


7.3 

22.8 

20.6 

17.2(?) 

18.6 

14 

12.2 

14.7 


15.9 


®  2 

Is 


12.168 


310 

44 

206 

186 

100 

221 

22 

16 


l.J 


L8 
1.4 
2.3 
L3 
2.2 
L9 
0.8 
1.2 


L6 


6  a' 


s  ^  f>   . 

lit  ►^  r-v"^ 


-«« 


28,754 


501 

654 
1,200 
1,800(?) 

650 

674 

156 

160 


4.5 


2.9 
2L3 
13.3 
12.5 
14.2 
5.9 
5.9 
11.8 


10.9 


u  a  ii 


.7  c. 


47.9c, 
112.8 
40.8 
47.4 
3L0 
47.6 
33.3 
35.1 


49.5 


V  <0 


d  o 

5 


+42 
+23 
+21 
+40 
—  8 
+41 

+  4 


+46 


The  following  table  gives  the  number  in  almshouses,  the 
amount  per  capita  of  population  expended  in  maintaining  them, 
and  the  percentage  decrease  as  compared  with  the  average  ex- 
penditure of  the  State,  in  three  agricultural  counties  and  ir 
two  bituminous  ones  : 

298 


CHARITY    NEVER    FAILETH. 


299 


County. 

Nain 
Almshousea. 

Per  1,000 
Population. 

Per  Capita 
Expense. 

Per  Cent 

as  Compared 

with  State. 

142 
189 
226 
105 
185 

1.9 
1.9 
1.4 
1.3 
1.1 

21.8  c. 

17.1 

29.5 

31.2 

22.7 

—35  2 

Berks         "      

49.3 

Chester      "      

Clearfield      (Bit.)... 
Westmoreland  " 

—12.5 
—  7.5 
-31.7 

The  following  table  gives  us  a  comparison  as  to  the  expenses 
incurred  in  t^e  maintenance  of  almshouses  and  of  out-door 
relief,  as  estimatedvUi  per  capita  of  population  : 


Average  for  State 

In  anthracite  communities.. 
In  bituminous  ** 

In  agricultural  " 


Out-door  Expense 
persCapitaof  Population. 


In-door  Maintenance 
per  Capita  of  Population. 


26.9  c. 
28.8 
18.2 
20.0 


From  these  tables  we  see  that  the  number  per  1 ,000  popu- 
lation receiving  out-door  relief  in  anthracite  communities  is 
unusually  high  —  almost  three-fold  the  general  average  of  the 
State.  If  we  compare  the  number  with  that  of  older  countries 
it  is  not  excessive.  England  has  an  average  of  19.5  persons 
per  1,000  receiving  out-door  relief.  But  the  anthracite  coal 
fields  have  neither  the  economic  nor  the  social  conditions  of 
older  countries.  The  majority  of  the  mine  employees  and 
those  dependent  upon  them  are  in  the  prime  of  life  and  in  the 
years  of  greatest  productivity.  We  have  not  the  numbers 
usually  found  in  normal  communities  in  the  higher  age  groups. 
The  large  number  of  widows  and  children  receiving  out-door 
relief  accounts  for  the  high  average,  and  it  brings  forth  very 
clearly  the  heavy  burden  imposed  upon  these  communities  be- 
cause of  the  large  number  of  fathers  and  husbands  killed  in 
this  industry.  But  making  due  allowance  for  the  killed  and 
the  maimed  in  anthracite  collieries,  there  is  no  reason  why  the 
number  of  persons  receiving  out-door  relief  should  be  as  large 
as  it  is.  The  per  capita  sum  spent  for  this  purpose  is  over 
three  times  that  of  the  State ;  over  twice  that  of  the  bituminous 
fields,  and  eight  times  that  of  agricultural  counties.  There  is 
considerable  difference  in  the  districts.     Coal  township  stands 


300  ANTHRACITE    COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

at  the  head  of  the  list  and  Schuylkill  county  at  the  bottom 
Three  years  ago  the  latter  had  about  the  same  proportion  a 
the  former,  but  in  the  last  few  years  the  Tax -payers'  Associa 
tion  of  Schuylkill  county  took  the  list  of  out-door  relief  ii 
hand  and  thoroughly  purged  it  of  its  abuses,  and,  withou 
working  injury  to  the  worthy  poor,  succeeded  in  reducing  th 
number  50  per  cent,  and  the  expenditures  were  cut  down  fron 
$40,000  to  125,000.  The  abuses  unearthed  by  this  band  o: 
business  men  were  amusing  though  serious.  Some  person 
dead  for  over  two  years  still  continued  to  draw  relief,  whil 
many  "respectable''  people  surreptitiously  took  relief  whiL 
from  $90  to  $100  came  into  the  house  each  month.  It  is  th( 
conviction  of  those  who  have  studied  this  question  that  th« 
lists  in  most  of  our  districts  could,  without  working  an] 
wrong,  be  cut  down  50  per  cent.  The  following  quotatioi 
from  the  report  of  the  Tax-payers'  Association  of  Schuylkil 
county  reflects  the  gross  neglect  on  the  part  of  "  poor  direc- 
tors" :  "The  directors  of  the  poor  in  April,  1903,  intend  U 
suspend  all  orders  now  in  force  and  request  new  applications 
to  be  made.  Tkis  has  not  been  done  for  ten  years  and  i{ 
very  necessary  in  the  condition  of  the  present  lists.  This  can- 
not but  help  in  weeding  out  parties  who  are  now  recipients  wh( 
do  not  deserve  relief." 

The  above  tables  also  show  that  the  abuse  of  out-door  relie: 
is  greater  in  the  Middle  and  the  Southern  coal  fields  than  in  th( 
Northern.  The  three  first  districts  given  in  the  above  tabh 
are  in  the  former  and  the  remainder  in  the  latter  section  ol 
our  territory.  The  districts  of  Scranton  and  Central  Luzerm 
have,  in  connection  with  the  almshouse,  an  insane  department 
where  defectives  are  kept.  The  expenditure  in  each  of  these 
almshouses,  computed  in  per  capita  cost  of  maintenance, 
is  about  the  same  as  that  of  the  Schuylkill  district  where 
also  the  insane  are  kept.  Schuylkill  county  in  its  poor 
rate,  showed  the  same  abuse  as  does  Coal  township  and  the 
Middle  Coal  Field  District,  before  the  Tax-payers'  Association 
was  organized  and  made  itself  felt.  In  many  of  the  mining 
townships  in  Schuylkill  county  the  coal  companies  pay  from  85 


CHARITY    NEVER   FAILETH.  301 

to  95  per  cent,  of  the  taxes,  and  the  extravagance  in  the  dis- 
bursement of  poor  relief  is  partly  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that 
the  electors  of  these  townships  do  not  pay  the  poor  tax.  The 
heavy  burden  of  taxation  which  fell  upon  the  coal  companies  in 
Schuylkill  county  was  the  reason  that  the  Tax-payers'  Associa- 
tion was  organized.  The  root  of  evU  is  politics.  The  man- 
agement of  Schuylkill  Haven  almshouse  has  been  a  constant 
source  of  scandal  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  and  lately 
one  of  the  daily  papers  asked  :  "  Will  there  ever  come  a  time  in 
Schuylkill  county's  history  when  the  almshouse  will  be  entirely 
free  from  political  scandal  and  the  Poor  Directors  be  free  to  act 
as  they  deem  best  ?  " 

The  growth  of  pauperism  and  insanity  in  the  anthracite  coal 
fields  for  the  last  decade  has  been  marked.  For  the  purpose 
of  comparison  we  will  take  the  number  of  paupers  and  insane  in 
the  districts  which  are  wholly  in  the  coal  fields.  In  1890  there 
were  887  or  178.3  persons  per  100,000  population  in  the  alms- 
houses, and  in  1900,  1,514  or  242.6  per  100,000  population. 
During  the  decade  the  percentage  increase  of  population  in  the 
counties  of  the  coal  fields  was  25.4  per  cent.,  but  the  inmates 
of  almshouses  increased  70.6  per  cent.  In  the  State  in  1890 
there  were  173.3  persons  in  the  almshouses  per  100,000  popula- 
tion, and  in  1900,  193.07.  The  percentage  increase  of  popula- 
tion in  the  State  was  19.9  per  cent.,  but  the  percentage  increase 
of  paupers  in  almshouses  was  33.5  per  cent.  Pauperism  has 
increased  in  the  State  in  the  last  decade,  but  not  to  the  extent 
it  has  in  these  coal  fields.  The  increase  in  the  expenditures  in 
the  last  decade  was  35.37  per  cent.  There  is  a  decrease  in  the 
per  capita  cost  of  maintenance  of  paupers  from  $119.38  to 
$94.67  per  annum,  but  the  amount  appropriated  for  salaries 
increased  33.8  per  cent. 

The  following  table  gives  us  the  paupers  and  defectives  in 
the  almshouses  in  the  coal  fields  for  the  years  specified. 


1890 
1900 


Sane. 
M.        F. 


412    219 
530    214 


Insane. 
M.        F. 


117     112 
382    325 


Blind. 
M.        F. 


13      6 
15      3 


Deaf  «t  Dumb. 
M.      F. 


2       2 


Children. 
Sane.  Insane. 


26       3 


0      0  47       6 


302  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

Of  the  sane  dependents  the  number  of  females  has  not  in 
creased  but  that  of  the  male  has  28.63  per  cent.  Th( 
number  of  insane  persons  in  our  institutions  has  greatly  in 
creased.  We  cannot  compute  the  percentage  of  increase  b) 
the  above  figures ;  the  hospital  for  the  insane,  "  Retreat/'  ir 
the  Central  district  was  only  opened  in  1899,  and  the  insane  o: 
the  district,  who  were  scattered  in  various  institutions,  broughl 
there.  Counting,  however,  all  the  insane  of  the  three  counties 
in  1890,  we  have  694,  and  in  1900, 1,106,  which  is  an  increase 
of  59.36  per  cent.  The  increase  in  our  almshouses  then  comes 
chiefly  from  insanity  and  all  who  know  the  close  connection 
between  the  increase  of  alcoholism  and  of  insanity  will  un- 
doubtedly conclude  that  they  are  related  as  cause  and  effect  in 
these  coal  fields.  Insanity  has  increased  twice  as  rapidly  as 
population. 

The  number  of  insane  in  the  three  counties  in  1890  was 
134.4  per  100,000  population,  and  in  1900,  177.2.  In  the 
State  in  1890  the  insane  numbered  187.69  per  100,000  popu- 
lation and  in  1900,  247.48.  If  we  express  this  increase  in 
percentages  that  of  the  State  is  57.93,  and  that  of  our  counties 
59.36,  but  in  the  years  in  which  the  above  comparison  is  made 
the  proportion  of  insane  is  less  in  the  coal  fields  than  in  the 
State  as  a  whole. 

In  the  year  1890  the  native  born  in  almshouses  was  28.4 
per  cent.,  but  in  1900  it  was  47.5  per  cent.  Thus  during  the 
decade  the  native  born  inmates  of  poorhouses  in  our  territory 
increased  67.2  per  cent.,  while  the  foreign  born  inmates  de- 
creased in  that  period  26.7  per  cent.  In  the  almshouses  of  the 
State  the  proportion  of  native  born  remained  nearly  constant 
during  the  decade,  the  increase  being  only  5  per  cent. 

The  total  amount  expended  in  the  three  counties  on  paupers 
and  defectives  of  all  classes  in  1890  was  $190,274.68,  and  in 
1900,  $284,779.88,  which  was  an  increase  of  43.5  per  cent.  The 
amount  disbursed  in  out-door  relief  increased  in  the  decade  75.7 
per  cent.  The  greatest  percentage  of  increase  took  place  in 
Luzerne  county.  In  the  three  counties  in  1890  the  per  capita 
expenditure  for  charitable  purposes  was  38  cents,  and  in  1900 


CHARITY    NEVER   FAILETH.  303 

15  cents,  while  in  the  State  it  was  33  cents  in  1890  and  34 
3ents  in  1900.  In  the  years  compared  our  counties  exceed  the 
general  average  for  the  State. 

The  districts  have  farms  connected  with  their  almshouses 
varying  from  90  to  150  acres.  The  returns  from  the  farms  are 
lot  great,  for  the  testimony  of  the  managers  invariably  is  that 
:he  inmates  will  not  work.  The  houses  built  for  the  accommo- 
lation  of  the  inmates  are  on  the  average  in  good  condition,  save 
hat  of  Schuylkill  Haven,  which  suffers  from  what  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Board  of  Charities  calls  "  too  much  politics."  It 
s  to  be  hoped  that  the  bill  *  introduced  into  the  Legislature  this 
session  will  pass,  givijjig  the  care  of  the  institution  to  a  board 
)f  commissioners  who  shall  serve  free  of  charge  and  have  full 
jontrol  of  the  in-door  and  out-door  relief.  This  will  take  it 
)ut  of  the  hands  of  the  politicians,  and  the  work  of  caring  for 
:he  poor  and  defective  in  the  county  will  cease  to  be  a  source 
)f  public  scandal,  shameful  wastefulness  and  criminal  incapacity. 

Besides  the  appropriations  made  for  charities  by  municipal 
taxation,  the  State  annually  appropriates  $122,175  to  the  ten 
lospitals  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields.  This  will  probably  be 
ncreased  in  the  current  year  to  $134,175  because  of  the  chang- 
ng  of  Lackawanna  Hospital,  Scranton,  from  being  a  private 
nstitution  to  a  state  hospital. 

Hence  we  see  that  the  total  appropriations  made  for  the  pau- 
pers, defectives  and  injured  by  both  the  municipalities  and  the 
3tate  annually  amount  to  over  $420,000,  not  counting  the 
imounts  invested  in  real  and  personal  estate  in  the  various 
ilmshouses  and  hospitals. 

How  Much  do  the  Coal  Companies  Give? 

Coal  companies  and  other  organized  bodies,  such  as  charity 
)rganizations,  benevolent  societies  and  churches,  practice  charity, 
)ut  the  exact  amount  contributed  by  these  corporate  bodies  can- 
lot  be  obtained.  All  we  can  do  is  describe  the  various  ways 
n  which  these  bodies  practice  this  virtue. 
Coal  companies  and  churches  contribute  to  the  maintenance  of 
*  This  beneficent  bill  failed  to  pass  the  Legislature  of  this  year. 


304  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

the  hospitals  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  where  the  injured  an( 
the  sick  among  the  working  classes  are  freely  treated.  W« 
have  eleven  hospitals,  three  of  which,  Ashland  Hospital,  Hazle 
ton  Hospital  and  Lackawanna  Hospital  are  State  institutions 
Moses  Taylor  hospital,  in  Scranton,  is  maintained  by  an  endow 
ment  fund  amply  sufficient  to  meet  all  expenses,  and  is  exclu- 
sively for  the  injured  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Westeri 
Company.  The  other  hospitals  in  our  territory  are  the  Hahne- 
mann of  Scranton,  the  West  Side  of  Scranton,  the  Wilkesbarri 
of  that  city,  the  Mercy  of  Wilkesbarre,  the  Pottsville  of  tha' 
city,  the  Pittston  of  that  city,  the  Carbondale  of  that  city 
Each  of  these  institutions  receives  State  aid  from  |2,000  U 
$16,000,  and  whatever  contributions  are  made  by  the  coal  com- 
panies and  the  churches  are  to  one  or  the  other  of  these  hos- 
pitals. These  institutions  are  open  to  all  creeds  and  nation- 
alities. Of  the  2,874  persons  treated  in  five  of  them  in  thi 
year  1900-1901,  989  or  34  per  cent,  was  Protestant  and  1885 
or  66  per  cent,  was  Catholic.  Of  the  1,998  patients  treated  in 
1898-1900  in  Ashland  hospital,  793  or  39.6  per  cent,  was 
native  born  and  1,205  or  60.4  per  cent,  foreign  born.  Among 
the  patients  nearly  all  European  nations  are  represented.  The 
mine  employees  form  about  80  per  cent,  of  all  the  persons 
treated  in  these  hospitals,  and  of  the  total  number  treated  over 
75  per  cent,  of  the  cases  is  surgical.  These  hospitals  which 
know  no  distinction  in  creed  or  nationality,  have  a  claim  upon 
corporations  which,  because  of  industrial  considerations,  should 
keep  them  in  mind. 

In  an  exhibit  presented  to  the  Coal  Strike  Commission  in 
behalf  of  the  coal  operators  of  the  Northern  coal  fields,  it  was 
stated  that  the  coal  companies  and  individual  coal  operators 
had  contributed  $25,225  to  Lackawanna  Hospital.  The  hos- 
pital was  founded  in  1871,  so  that  during  the  years  of  its  use- 
fulness the  coal  companies  contributed  less  than  $1,000  a  year, 
while  fully  60  per  cent,  of  the  patients  treated  there  was  of 
the  mining  class.  During  this  time  the  State  contributed 
$232,000  and  the  public  and  other  institutions  over  $125,000. 
So  that  if  we  take  into  consideration  the  work  done  by  this 


CHARITY   NEVER   PAILETH. 


305 


institution  and  the  years  it  has  existed,  the  contribution  of  the 
coal  companies  is  very  meagre.* 

The  following  list  of  private  institutions  shows  how  they 
were  maintained  according  to  the  last  reports  issued  by  them. 


Hospitals. 

1^2 

PI 

Is! 

ll 
1^ 

Lackawanna 

$28,626 
11,825 
26,435 
7,941 
4,144 
27,974 
13,022 
12,530 

None. 

25.5 

2.5 

None. 
<( 

(( 

<( 

Nonft- 

33.8% 

15 

12.6 

30 

50 

72.8 

84.6 

82.6 

60.1% 
70 

Pittston 

Wilkesbarre 

61.9 

Carbondale 

63 

West  Side  (Scranton)  .. 
Pottsville 

50 

27.2 

Mercy  (Wilkesbarre)... 
Hahnemann  (Scranton) 

15.4 
17.4 

Total  and  average 

$132,497 

4% 

2.2% 

47% 

45.7% 

Thus,  barring  out  Moses  Taylor  Hospital,  the  total  con- 
tributed by  the  coal  companies  toward  the  hospitals  in  the 
anthracite  coal  fields  in  one  year  was  $5,299.  In  addition  to 
this  some  of  the  companies  gave  a  car  of  coal,  worth  about 
$100  to  the  Carbondale  and  Pottsville  hospitals.  After  care- 
ful computation,  and  allowing  for  what  some  operators  con- 
tribute when  their  injured  employees  are  treated  in  private  hos- 
pitals, the  total  amount  contributed  by  these  companies  for  one 
fear  is  about  $8,000,  or  an  average  of  13  cents  for  every  1,000 
:ons  of  coal  mined.  It  may  be  said,  in  extenuation  of  this 
leglect  on  the  part  of  coal  companies,  that  the  individual 
)perators  contribute  privately  and  that  most  of  the  funds  of  the 

*  The  coal  companies,  as  above  stated,  pay  the  major  part  of  taxes  for  the 
elief  of  the  poor.  The  following  extract  from  the  testimony  of  G.  H.  Ent- 
er, one  of  the  directors  of  the  Central  Poor  District,  before  the  "Commission 
0  Inquire  into  the  Condition  of  the  Insane  in  Hospitals,"  shows  this :  "You 
all  understand  that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  mineral  and  coal  lands  in  the 
istrict  and  the  large  corporations  pay  a  large  percentage  of  these  taxes,  for 
astance  such  corporations  as  the  Delaware  &  Lackawanna,  Lehigh  Valley- 
osquehanna  Coal  Company,  and  a  number  of  others,  and  the  men  represent, 
ag  these  companies  are  watching  and  scrutinizing  everything  that  is  being 
one  and  have  a  tax-payers'  association  ;  they  pay  seventy -five  per  cent,  of  all 
lis  and  they  watch  and  scrutinize  everything  and  have  a  system  of  audit, 
tc."— Keport,  1902. 
21 


306  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

State  are  collected  from  corporations.  But  it  is  well  know] 
that  the  individual  operators  residing  in  the  coal  fields  to-da 
are  very  few,  and  although  capitalists  do  pay  largely  to  th 
State  funds  for  the  privileges  they  get,  yet  a  larger  portio: 
of  the  wealth  taken  from  these  coal  fields  should  be  donated  t 
these  charitable  institutions  for  the  maimed  and  the  sick  of  th 
working  classes.  A  gentleman  in  charge  of  one  of  our  hospital 
went  to  the  operators  to  ask  for  aid,  which  they  refused ;  h 
then  said  :  "  Won't  you  give  us  some  coal  to  keep  the  patient 
warm  while  we  patch  them  up  for  you  ?  '^  The  operator  said 
"  Why,  that  is  the  same  as  money,  for  we  sell  coal.''  Afte 
repeated  solicitations  $500  and  25  tons  of  coal  have  been  cor 
tributed  to  this  institution  in  which  80  per  cent,  of  the  patieni 
treated  are  of  the  mining  class.  The  Pennsylvania  Railroa 
Company  made  a  handsome  contribution  to  "  Retreat,''  the  ne^ 
insane  hospital  erected  by  the  Central  Poor  District,  by  expenc 
ing  over  $25,000  in  grading  and  improving  the  grounds  whei 
the  hospital  stands. 

Many  of  the  companies  contribute  something  to  the  famili< 
of  the  killed  and  injured  among  their  employees.  The  Phik 
delphia  and  Reading  had  on  its  lists  last  November  hous< 
whose  aggregate  monthly  rent  amounted  to  $140  which 
did  not  collect.  It  was  its  contribution  to  the  widows  an 
indigent  among  its  employees.  The  Markle  Company,  tl 
Wentz  Company,  the  Coxe  Company  as  well  as  other  con 
panics  in  these  coal  fields,  sometimes  cancel  debts  for  rent  ar 
coal  incurred  by  widows  whose  husbands  have  been  killed  i 
the  mines,  while  in  all  our  investigations  we  only  found  oi 
case  where  a  widow  was  evicted,  and  the  cause  then  was  th: 
she  dared  to  open  a  store  in  a  company  house  to  aid  her  in  tl 
conflict  of  life.  The  company  owned  all  houses  and  land  in  tl 
town,  and  it  does  not  interfere  with  widows  who  wash  and  sen 
to  keep  the  wolf  from  the  door,  but  they  must  not  open  a  stor 
Most  of  the  companies  also  contribute  something  for  buri 
expenses  and  it  is  well  that  they  do,  for  medical  science 
Pennsylvania  has  its  eye  on  the  corpse  of  the  poor.  If  a  po 
widow  appeals  to  the  Poor  Board  for  help  to  bury  her  husbai 


CHARITY   NEVER    FAILETH.  307 

killed  in  the  mines,  she  is  told  that,  by  the  law  of  the  State,  it 
is  liable  to  a  fine  of  $500  if  it  exercises  this  charity.*  All  it 
can  do  is  to  relieve  her  of  the  remains,  send  them  to  Philadel- 
phia, where  the  body  will  be  used  for  the  advancement  of  science. 
It  is  not  enough  for  young  graduates  to  experiment  on  the 
living  in  these  hospitals  where  the  poor  among  mine  employees 
are  treated,  but  the  dead  of  the  poor  must  also  serve  the  pur- 
pose of  science.  The  widow  and  children  of  the  poor  must 
forfeit  the  privilege  of  having  a  grave  where  the  dead  may  be 
laid  and  a  flower  placed  in  loving  memory  of  him  who  labored 
and  died  for  them,  unless  the  workmen  and  the  employers  con- 
tribute the  requisite  amount  to  bury  the  dead.  Well  is  it  then 
that  funds  and  contributions  are  made  that  the  poor  may  bury 
their  dead  in  sacred  and  consecrated  ground,  and  to  the  credit 
of  both  mine  employees  and  employers  be  it  said,  few  are  the 
bodies  shipped  to  Philadelphia  for  the  advancement  of  science 
from  the  coal  fields. 

There  are  volunteer  charity  organizations  in  Scranton,  Wilkes- 
barre,  Hazleton,  Pottsville  and  Carbondale.  These,  for  the 
greater  part,  cooperate  with  the  poor  directors  or  conduct  a 
work  of  their  own  along  strictly  religious  or  humanitarian  lines. 
In  the  cities  of  Scranton,  Wilkesbarre  and  Pottsville  there  are 
five  institutions  wholly  for  charitable  purposes,  where  762  de- 
pendents and  delinquents  are  maintained  at  an  annual  expense 
of  $51,575.22.  The  charity  organizations  in  the  cities  of 
Scranton  and  Wilkesbarre  cooperate  with  the  poor  directors. 
The  agents  of  these  societies  carefully  investigate  the  cases 
which  come  before  the  board  and  report  to  the  secretary.  By 
the  agency  of  these  volunteer  organizations  fully  one  third  of 
the  applicants  for  relief  are  found  unworthy,  while  the  other 
two  thirds  are  intelligently  guided  in  their  quest  for  relief. 
We  have  seen  in  the  first  section  of  this  chapter  that  the  amount 
disbursed  in  poor  relief  in  our  territory  is  excessive.  The 
officers  in  charge  are  not  wholly  to  be  blamed,  for  the  territory 

*  A  law  passed  by  the  last  Legislature  makes  it  possible  for  boards  of  poor 
iireetors  to  burj  the  deceased  of  indigent  families  if  a  petition  is  presented 
:hem  signed  by  ten  tax-payers. 


308  ANTHRACITE   COAL    COMMUNITIES.  ''^ 

covered  by  the  average  member  of  the  board  is  large  and  it :" 
beyond  his  power  to  investigate  each  case,  while  the  remunerg 
tion  is  not  adequate  to  permit  him  to  devote  all  his  time  to  tb 
work.  Of  course,  the  men  in  charge  could  do  far  better  tha 
they  do,  and  there  is  cause  for  just  complaint  when  men  hoi 
the  office  and  are  so  negligent  of  their  duties  as  to  permit  pei 
sons  to  remain  on  the  lists  year  after  year  without  investigatin 
into  their  circumstances  and  also  enter  others  on  the  roll  f<; 
no  other  reason  than  to  enhance  their  political  prospects. 

Officials  of  this  character  vehemently  denounce  the  interfei 
ence  of  the  agents  of  charity  organizations  and  look  with  sus 
picion  upon  the  scrutiny  of  tax-payers.  The  Tax-payers'  A.- 
sociation  of  Schuylkill  county  was  vigorously  opposed  by  tl: 
politicians,  and  only  after  a  conflict  of  several  years'  duration  i 
the  court  house  was  it  able  to  acquire  such  power  that  tl 
arrogance  and  impudence  of  incapable  and  dishonest  politiciai 
were  cowed.  It  will  pay  the  tax-payers  everywhere  voluntari] 
to  maintain  capable  agents,  free  from  political  influence,  1 
investigate  the  cases  of  applications  for  relief  in  these  co; 
fields.  The  public  officers  are  politicians,  and  the  best  of  the] 
are  inclined  to  take  a  charitable  view  of  the  matter  and  gi> 
help  in  doubtful  cases.  One  of  the  best  men  we  knew  holdir 
such  an  office  said :  "  All  who  come  for  aid  are  poor  anyho 
and  should  be  helped."  This  is  the  principle  on  which  muc 
of  the  out-door  relief  is  given.  Of  the  $26,000  spent  in  ou 
door  relief  in  the  Middle  Coal  Field  District,  over  $18,000 
distributed  in  the  Hazleton  section.  The  prodigality  wil 
which  out-door  relief  has  been  distributed  in  Coal  township 
criminal.  The  only  conceivable  and  right  way  to  put  a  chec 
on  this  extravagance  is  for  the  tax-payers  to  secure  an  agei 
who  will  revise  the  list  and  investigate  into  the  conditions 
every  claimant  for  relief.  There  is  no  doubt  that  many  no 
receiving  aid  can  work  if  a  practical  test  were  enforced,  and 
keep  them  on  the  list  is  to  put  a  premium  on  pauperism.  Tl 
unfortunate  pauper  can  only  be  separated  from  the  idle  parasi 
by  an  investigation  of  individual  cases  by  a  competent  age: 
of  organized  charities.     The  ones  now  in  existence  in  the  co 


CHARITY    NEVER    FAILETH.  309 

fields  do  good  work.  Others  should  be  organized  by  the  coal 
operators  and  thrifty  citizens,  upon  whom  fall  the  burden  now 
due  to  the  extravagance  of  politicians,  who  freely  scatter  that 
which  the  thrifty  and  industrious  gather.  Patriotism  and  an 
intelligent  conception  of  what  is  good  for  our  society  should 
move  our  people  to  action.  Pauperism  grows  under  a  lax 
administration,  it  should  be  the  conscious  purpose  of  society  to 
diminish  it.  Ransom  Poor  District  has  an  efficient  restriction 
on  out-door  relief;  the  poor  directors  are  annually  limited  to 
$5,000  for  that  purpose.  In  other  districts,  however,  no  such 
wholesome  restraint  is  exercised  and  the  rule  followed  by  most 
incumbents  of  these  offices  may  be  said  to  be  that  of  the  rail- 
!X)ads  :  "as  much  as  the  traffic  will  bear." 

Fraternal  orders  also  practice  charity.     When  a  member  is 

dck  beyond  the  time  limit  during  which  benefits  are  paid,  his 

3ase  is  brought  before  the  society  and  a  donation   is   made. 

These  organizations  also  profess  to  take  care  of  the  widows  and 

)rphans  of  deceased  members,  which  is  sometimes  done  and 

iometimes  not.     The  charitable  impulse  of  some  of  these  orders 

)ften  takes  a  different  form  from  that  of  a  donation.     A  com- 

nittee  is  appointed  which  conducts  a  raffle,  when  some  article, 

uch  as  a  gun,  a  watch,  or  even  a  cow  or  horse,  possessed  by 

he  unfortunate,   is  chanced.     Tickets  are  sold  —  the  widow 

•enerally  peddles  them  from  door  to  door.     A  night  is  set  for 

he  raffle,  which  generally  takes  place  in  a  saloon,  and  the  lucky 

lumber  gets  the  prize.     Sometimes  a  colliery  will  aid  an  un- 

ortunate  brother  by  taking  up  a  collection,  when  each  employee 

ives  a  certain  sum  which  is  deducted  from  his  pay  in  the  office. 

All  these  efforts,  however,  are  sporadic  and  the  sum  collected 

y  these  means  is  given  in  bulk  to  the  recipient.     With  few 

xceptions,  the  parties  aided  are  thriftless  and  improvident  and 

le  amount  collected  is  soon  spent  extravagantly.     We  knew  a 

imily  so  aided  spending  $8  on  two  pictures  peddled  by  an 

>ent,  and  within  six  weeks  after,  was  again  in  want.     Many  of 

lese  people  have  no  economic  foresight ;  they  live  to  gratify 

resent  desire  and  the  aid  given  them  in  ready  money  is  liable  to 

11  the  abuses  of  spasmodic  efforts  to  relieve  want  and  results  in 


310  ANTHRACITE   COAL.   COMMUNITIES. 

an  immediate  profusion  of  good  things  soon  followed  by  dire  dis- 
tress.    They  live  in  the  savage  state  surrounded  by  civilization 

It  is  a  part  of  the  Christian  faith  that  contributions  be  taker 
for  the  poor,  but  the  local  church  lives  up  to  its  creed  accord- 
ing as  it  feels  financial  stress  or  not.  As  above  stated,  th( 
Protestant  churches  of  mining  towns  are  for  the  greater  par 
weak  and  all  they  can  do  is  to  meet  current  expenses  and  con 
tribute  something  annually  to  the  missionary  enterprises  of  th< 
denomination  to  which  each  belongs.  This  economic  pressure 
in  the  life  of  many  churches,  together  with  the  absence  of  want 
prevent  the  establishment  of  poor  funds  in  many  religioui 
organizations.  There  is  in  some  churches,  however,  a  poo: 
fund  to  which  the  members  have  an  opportunity  to  contribut 
every  time  the  eucharist  is  celebrated.  Churches  of  from  20( 
to  500  members  disburse  each  year  from  $10  to  $50  in  charity 
In  conversation  with  pastors  on  this  subject  they  said  that  ver 
little  urgent  need  is  met  with  among  the  members  of  thei 
church  and  congregation. 

In  our  cities  many  of  the  Protestant  churches  display  con 
siderable  activity  in  charitable  work  and  much  money  is  con 
tributed  by  them  for  this  purpose.  Some  of  them  have  a  horn 
in  a  quiet  country  village  where  they  send  destitute  persons  fo 
a  few  weeks'  vacation  in  summer  time.  Others  have  ajcottag 
at  their  disposal,  where  young  lady  clerks  of  limited  means  cai 
go  for  a  two  weeks'  vacation  at  very  moderate  expense.  Prot 
estant  churches  also  in  our  territory  hold  union  services  oi 
Thanksgiving  Day,  when  an  offering  is  taken  up  for  the  hospitals 
This  collection  generally  amounts  to  from  $8  to  $10  in  miniuj 
towns.  Churches  in  Scranton  and  Wilkesbarre  contribute  an 
nually  to  the  Home  of  the  Friendless,  while  others  gather  th 
soiled  and  discarded  garments  of  the  rich  saints  to  distribut 
among  the  poor.  Rich  churches  sometimes  also  send  donation 
of  old  hymnals  and  an  organ  to  a  missionary  chapel  in  a  min 
ing  town,  which  implements,  having  sacred  metropolitan  as 
sociations,  may  yet  be  used  to  aid  the  devotions  of  the  humbh 
while  better  instruments  are  purchased  by  the  city  church. 

Some  of  these  churches  in  our  towns  have  other  ways  to  ai 


CHARITY   NEVER    FAILETH.  311 

the  indigent.  When  a  widow  struggles  for  her  children,  some 
charitable  persons  come  together  and  decide  to  make  a  "  pound 
party."  A  night  is  chosen  and  each  woman  brings  her  contri- 
bution. They  go  to  the  home  of  the  widow,  present  the  gifts 
and  spend  the  evening  in  hilarity.  The  good  cheer  these 
people  bring  does  as  much  good  to  the  struggling  widow  as  the 
gifts.  We  have  also  seen  Christian  associations  appealing  to 
the  gambling  instinct  to  help  the  poor,  but  the  most  frequent 
method  pursued  is  to  make  a  social  or  a  concert  for  the  benefit 
of  the  indigent. 

The  Roman  Catholic  churches  contribute  to  the  hospitals, 
while  they  also  have  institutions  for  orphans  and  foundlings. 
The  women  connected  with  their  various  religious  orders  visit 
the  sick  and  aid  those  in  distress.  The  priest  in  charge  pro- 
vides means  for  the  relief  of  the  needy  in  his  parish,  while 
organizations  of  the  laity,  both  male  and  female,  practice  the 
virtue  of  charity  among  the  indigent  of  the  parish. 

The  liberality  of  the  poor  boards  in  mining  communities  is 
such  that  comparatively  small  is  the  number  of  those  dependent 
on  the  charity  of  the  churches.  These  organizations  supple- 
ment the  system  of  poor  relief,  but  it  is  questionable  whether 
the  sporadic  effort  they  make  does  not  more  evil  than  good. 
The  work  of  charity  has  been  placed  on  scientific  principles  and 
the  sooner  all  charitably  disposed  volunteer  organizations  coop- 
erate along  lines  laid  down  by  leaders  in  this  work,  the  better 
for  society.  Poverty  is  a  disease  which  can  only  be  stamped 
out  by  the  adoption  of  scientific  methods  and  principles.  This 
should  be  the  aim  of  all  intelligent  members  of  society,  and  the 
anthracite  coal  fields  are  sadly  in  need  of  systematized  and  uni~ 
form  methods  in  the  work  of  relieving  the  poor. 

Individual  Givers. 
Possibly  the  most  liberal  body  of  men  in  the  anthracite  coal 
fields  consists  of  the  politicians.  Many  of  them  hold  office  for 
two  and  three  terms,  draw  salaries  of  from  $3,000  to  $6,000  a 
year,  and,  at  the  close  of  their  official  career,  have  nothing. 
Their  salaries  are  far  in  excess  of  their  capacity,  and  their  social 


312  ANTHRACITE   COAL,   COMMUNITIES. 

worth  would  command  no  such  stipend  in  industrial  and  com- 
mercial circles,  but  these  men  have  one  virtue  —  they  give  freely 
of  their  wages  toward  charitable  causes.  As  public  servants 
they  are  constantly  besieged  by  persons  either  in  distress  or 
soliciting  aid  in  behalf  of  indigent  neighbors.  Some  of  the 
politicians  are  liberal  from  principle  ;  others  from  policy.  One 
of  the  most  successful  men  in  political  circles  in  one  of  our 
counties  passed  for  years  as  a  generous  and  liberal  man,  but 
when  his  political  prospects  ceased  by  the  political  law  of  rota- 
tion in  office,  he  pulled  the  strings  of  his  pocket-book  tight  and 
soon  became  noted  as  a  close-fisted  fellow.  But  taking  the 
politicians  of  these  communities  as  a  body,  they  disburse  more 
money  in  charity  than  any  other  body  of  men  of  equal  number. 
There  are  some  persons  among  coal  operators  who  delight  to 
relieve  the  needy  aud  do  much  of  it.  We  have  had  occasion 
to  mention  the  Hazleton  mountains  as  a  section  where  abuses 
prevail.  There  also  the  higher  virtues  of  charity  and  mercy 
are  more  liberally  exercised  than  in  any  other  section  of  these 
coal  fields.  The  ladies  in  the  families  of  the  Coxes,  Markles, 
Wentz,  etc.,  have  exercised  liberal  charity  for  years  among  the 
employees  of  the  above  companies,  and  in  addition  to  their 
personal  services  they  hire  trained  nurses  to  visit  the  homes  of 
mine  employees  where  some  one  of  the  family  is  sick.  These 
nurses  suggest  to  the  mothers  methods  of  treatment  and  con- 
ditions of  hygiene  which  greatly  aid  the  unfortunate.  Many 
families  on  these  mountains  have  received  favors  from  the 
ladies  above  mentioned  which  they  will  never  forget.  We 
bave  known  wives  of  individual  coal  operators  elsewhere,  who 
have  made  unto  themselves  a  name  which  will  live  until  the 
last  recipient  of  their  kindness  has  passed  away.  Many  of  the 
individual  operators  also  are  generous  and  largely  contribute  to 
the  indigent  in  an  unostentatious  way.  A  gentleman  who  had 
an  idea  that  the  coal  operators  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  were 
the  embodiment  of  selfishness,  came  in  contact  with  many  of 
them  at  the  time  the  Coal  Strike  Commission  held  its  sessions 
in  Scranton,  and  his  impression  was,  "why  many  of  these  men 
are  generous  and   kind  hearted."     It  is  true.     Two  kinder- 


CHARITY   NEVER    FAILETH.  313 

gartens  were  maintained  in  the  Northern  coal  fields  by  coal 
operators ;  many  churches  have  received  donations  from  them ; 
Mr.  Markle  has  built  two  rooms  for  the  convenience  of  the 
young  men  of  Jeddo  and  Ebervale ;  the  Coxes  have  given  a 
room  for  the  use  of  the  young  people  of  Janesville ;  a  library 
is  maintained  by  the  contributions  of  operators  in  Minersville ; 
the  Pennsylvania  Eailroad  Company  keeps  a  man  in  Y.  M.  C. 
A.  work  in  the  Lykens  valley ;  the  officers  of  the  Delaware 
and  Hudson  have  one  doing  similar  work  in  the  Lackawanna 
and  Wyoming  valleys ;  and  the  Anthracite  Committee  of  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  draws  a  large  part  of  its  finances  from  men 
directly  or  indirectly  interested  in  anthracite  mining.  The 
Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  Company  gives  a  building, 
heats  it  and  keeps  it  in  repair  for  missionary  purposes  in  a 
suburb  of  Scran  ton  free  of  charge,  while  many  coal  companies 
have  freely  given  valuable  lots,  upon  which  churches  are  built, 
for  religious  purposes.  The  Mechanical  Institute  of  Freelaud 
is  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  the  Coxes  of  Drifton.  In 
Hazel  township,  in  1902,  small-pox  cases  occurred  and  the 
township  incurred  an  indebtedness  of  $1,300  in  sanitary  pre- 
cautions. The  money  was  about  to  be  taken  from  the  school 
funds  when  the  coal  companies  came  forward  and  paid  the  bill. 
Whenever  a  public  movement  goes  on  in  the  coal  fields,  the  few 
operators  who  still  live  here  are  liberal  contributors  to  it, 
while  there  is  hardly  a  religious  organization  in  our  territory 
which  has  not  on  special  occasions  been  the  recipient  of  favors 
from  coal  companies. 

Pastors  and  priests  are  frequently  called  upon  for  contribu- 
tions and  many  of  them  give  beyond  their  means  to  aid  those 
in  distress.  The  anthracite  industry  has  in  the  past  years 
known  periods  of  depression  which  inflict  great  hardship  upon 
the  people.  An  open  winter  means  half  time  at  the  collieries 
and  often  have  pastors  and  priests  known  of  distress  in  the 
homes  of  the  people  which  they  were  unable  to  relieve.  Wages 
are  better  now  than  they  were  in  the  eighties  and  nineties,  but 
notwithstanding  the  fact  of  the  recent  advances  we  are  not 
sure   that   men    will  be   safeguarded   against  want,  and    the 


314  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

spiritual  leaders  of  these  people  will  not  lack  occasion  to  exer- 
cise the  virtue  of  charity. 

Individuals  of  other  classes  —  professional,  commercial,  etc., 
contribute  to  those  in  need.  During  the  strikes  of  1900  and 
1902  the  business  men,  property  owners  and  physicians  exer- 
cised great  charity.  Many  of  these  men  knew  as  they  gave 
goods  or  services  that  they  would  never  be  paid  and  still  they 
withheld  not  their  hands.  After  the  strike  of  1902  was  over, 
many  property  owners  cancelled  the  debt  the  tenants  owed  and 
said,  "  WeUl  start  anew." 

In  the  course  of  our  study  of  the  anthracite  coal  fields,  we 
have  found  many  short-comings  in  the  mine  employees.  They 
have  many  excellencies  also  and  among  them  is  a  generous 
sentiment  and  a  readiness  to  give  in  case  of  need.  Their  call- 
ing is  hazardous  and  in  it  they  are  brave  and  courageous,  but 
when  a  comrade  falls,  the  tenderness  of  a  miner's  heart  is  not 
excelled  by  that  of  any  other  class  of  men,  and  when  the  cry  of 
distress  comes  these  men  are  ready  with  their  dollar  to  aid. 
Neither  the  mine  employers  nor  employees  discuss  the  utility 
of  individual  gifts  or  the  merits  of  promiscuous  giving.  They 
give,  that  is  all.  The  men  to  whom  they  give  are  generally 
known  to  them,  but  if  they  are  not  they  give  to  those  who  are 
incapacitated  through  accident.  Many  of  these  unfortunates 
are  seen  near  the  pay-cars,  and  although  the  miners  know  that 
the  money  they  give  will  soon  be  spent  in  drink,  they  still  give. 
It  is  done  because  of  sympathy  with  the  unfortunate  with  whom 
they  are  willing  to  share  the  wages  they  earn  by  hard  toil. 

The  number  of  paupers  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  is  not 
large,  and  in  the  treatment  of  those  who,  either  because  of 
accident  or  adverse  circumstances,  are  in  need,  what  we  need  is 
enlightened  philanthropy.  A  philanthropy  that  will  teach  and 
act  upon  the  principle  that  society  is  the  loser  when  its  mem- 
bers are  defective,  dependent  and  delinquent,  and  that  the  wel- 
fare of  the  whole  is  promoted  when  the  good  of  its  needy  mem- 
bers is  secured.  This  is  the  solution  of  the  social  questions 
which  press  upon  us  and,  without  this  being  kept  in  view,  our 
philanthropy  will  do  more  harm  than  good.     Sentiment  has  a 


CHARITY    NEVER   FAILETH.  315 

part  to  play  in  this  great  work,  but  cold  calculation  and  the 
adoption  of  efficient  and  effective  means  have  a  far  greater  part 
in  the  work.  To  alleviate  present  suffering  and  show  compas- 
sion to  the  unfortunate  is  praiseworthy,  but  we  must  go  deeper 
and  try  to  create  conditions  under  which  suffering,  misery  and 
pauperism  will  be  reduced  to  a  minimum.*  Biologists  tell  us 
that  a  normal  condition  is  brought  about  in  each  organism  by 
a  power  possessed  by  each  cell  to  choose  the  material  for  its 
use,  but  in  addition  to  this  there  is  something  like  a  common 
volition  in  the  mass  of  cells  making  up  the  whole.  In  society 
each  individual  should  be  kept  alone  to  choose  that  which  his 
intelligence  suggests  is  best  for  his  use,  but  there  is  also  such  a 
thing  as  the  common  volition  of  the  group  which  consciously 
seeks  the  well  being  of  the  whole.  To  guide  this  conscious 
purpose  of  society  is  the  interest  of  all  and  it  can  be  done  only 
by  an  enlightened  philanthropy  which  sacrifices  temporary  en- 
joyment for  greater  future  benefits.  Above  the  selfish  interests 
of  the  few  stands  the  welfare  of  the  masses,  and  the  army  of 
paupers,  defectives  and  criminals  will  only  diminish  as  society 
sees  that  each  child  possesses  equal  advantages  for  gaining  a 
livelihood  and  contributing  to  the  welfare  of  the  whole. 

*  James  E.  Roderick,  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines,  in  his  report  for  the 
current  year,  asks  that  provision  be  made  in  some  way  for  those  who  are  in- 
capacitated from  working  in  and  around  the  mines.  He  proposes  a  tax  of 
half  a  cent  a  ton  on  all  coal  produced,  which  he  estimates  will  amount  to 
$375,000  annually,  to  be  evenly  divided  between  the  owners  of  coal  land  and 
operators.  Some  such  scheme  should  be  instituted  to  provide  for  the  maimed, 
widowed  and  orphaned  of  these  coal  fields,  but  before  this  is  done  the  whole 
question  of  compensation  for  accidents  in  the  mining  industry  ought  to  be 
thoroughly  investigated  by  a  competent  Commission  and  the  work  of  legisla- 
tion placed  on  scientific  principles.  If  otherwise  done  we  will  only  have 
greater  wastefulness  than  now  exists  in  the  relief  of  indigent  mine  employees, 
and  pauperism  will  increase. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

POLITICS  IN   MINING  COMMUNITIES. 

1.  The  Men  who  Eun  for  County  Offices.  2.  The  Men  who  Sit  in 
Council  Chambers.  3.  How  are  our  Boroughs  Managed?  4.  The 
Board  of  Health  in  Mining  Towns.  5.  Mining  Municipalities 
Owning  Public  Utilities. 


The  Men  who  Run  for  County  Offices. 

The  counties  of  Lackawanna,  Luzerne  and  Schuylkill  are 
largely  governed  by  the  vote  of  the  mine  employees.  The 
official  vote  cast  in  these  counties  in  the  fall  of  1901  was  87,- 
648,  of  which  56,258,  or  64.18  per  cent.,  was  cast  by  electors 
employed  in  and  around  the  mines. 

The  character  of  the  candidates  for  office  in  these  counties  is 
very  different  from  that  required  in  adjoining  rural  counties. 
A  man  who  will  not  liberally  contribute  funds  to  keep  the 
"  boys  "  in  good  humor  can  not  be  elected,  while  such  conduct 
in  a  candidate  for  public  office  in  an  agricultural  community 
would  result  in  his  defeat.  The  government  of  our  counties  is 
just  as  good  as  is  the  conscience  of  the  average  elector.  The 
quality  of  men  chosen  to  fill  positions  of  public  trust  will  not 
rise  higher  than  the  level  of  the  public  conscience,  and  before 
greater  honesty  and  integrity  can  be  attained  in  our  adminis- 
trators, these  virtues  must  rise  much  higher  than  at  present  in 
the  electors  of  our  counties. 

All  the  men  connected  with  the  political  machines  in  our 
communities  are  not  corrupt.  We  have  personally  known  some 
of  them  who  are  conscientious,  honest,  and  patriotic,  and  none 
knows  the  abuses  which  prevail  in  our  political  life  better  than 
they.  These  misdeeds  they  heartily  deplore,  and  many  of  them 
have  gone  so  far  as  to  sever  their  connection  with  the  organiza- 
tion and  denounced  the  knavery  and  fraud  which  have  alienated 
them. 

316 


POLITICS   IN    MINING   COMMUNITIES.  317 

In  every  election  the  machine  is  active  and,  notwithstanding 
the  various  devices  inaugurated  to  weaken  its  hold  upon  the 
process  of  nominating  and  electing  candidates,  it  triumphs  over 
all  schemes  to  defeat  its  purpose,  succeeds  in  bringing  its  men 
before  the  public  as  regular  nominees  of  the  party,  and  elects 
them.  What  chance  has  the  ordinary  citizen  to  fight  these  men 
who  devote  all  their  time  to  "fixing  things"  their  own  way 
and  who  command  a  floating  vote  that  will,  under  ordinary 
circumstances,  always  decide  the  election  ?  It  is  the  power  of 
the  machine  in  our  counties  that  makes  reform  so  difficult.  Men 
guilty  of  misdemeanor  in  office  are  not  punished,  and  a  band  of 
reformers  who  bring  suit  finds  it  next  to  an  impossibility  to 
have  opinions  rendered  in  the  cases  tried.  A  notorious  politician, 
when  tried  in  one  of  our  courts,  was  asked  if  he  had  done  much 
"dirty  work"  in  politics;  he  said  '^yes."  "For  whom?" 
"Oh,  for  many,  and  among  others  for  his  honor  on  the  bench." 
The  judge  bowed  his  head  in  shame.  Men,  who  in  social  and 
religious  life  occupy  places  of  honor,  when  dominated  by  polit- 
ical aspirations  stoop  to  despicable  ways  to  secure  votes.  One 
of  our  Sunday-school  superintendents  aspired  for  a  seat  in  the 
Legislature  and,  while  earnestly  engaged  in  sacred  things,  his 
money  furnished  beer  to  a  crowd  of  ward-heelers  in  another 
part  of  the  city.  Few  men,  aspiring  for  public  honor,  have  the 
grace  to  resist  the  venality  practiced  by  politicians.  A  promi- 
nent official  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  Rail- 
road desired  office  and  asked  the  men  in  control  of  the  machine 
to  launch  him ;  "  Certainly,"  was  the  reply  of  the  politicians, 
"and  first  of  all  we  want  $200  to  be  distributed  in  the 
saloons."  The  man  was  innocent  of  the  ways  of  politicians  and 
immediately  withdrew  his  name.  And  what  wrecks  are  recorded 
in  the  political  world  in  these  coal  fields  !  Some  of  the  most 
successful  politicians  in  Lackawanna,  Luzerne  and  Schuylkill 
counties  were,  before  they  entered  politics,  honorable  and  use- 
ful men,  trusted  and  respected  of  all.  To-day,  those  who  still 
survive  rank  with  the  most  corrupt  and  tricky  in  the  State. 

A  successful  Congressman  from  the  anthracite  coal  fields  a 
decade  ago  spent  from  $5,000  to  $6,000  during  the  campaign. 


318  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

now  from  $25,000  to  $30,000  is  spent,  and  in  a  vigorous  con- 
test in  the  fall  of  1902  one  of  these  candidates  is  said  to  have 
spent  twice  that  amount.  Conventions,  where  nominations  are 
made,  have  become  in  our  counties  bargain  counters  where  candi- 
dates openly  buy  votes,  and  the  delegates  boastfully  exhibit 
the  money  they  secure  by  selling  them.  Sums  from  $75  to 
$200  were  recently  paid  and  the  men  receiving  the  money 
attempted  not  to  conceal  the  fact.  An  ex-boss  in  politics  in 
one  of  our  counties  in  a  recent  public  address  protested  against 
bribery,  corruption  and  commercialism  in  politics  and  said  that 
the  electors  were  sold  "  as  sheep  in  the  shambles.''  A  man  in 
the  crowd  said :  "  He  ought  to  know ;  a  few  years  ago  he 
brought  into  the  county  $10,000  to  buy  up  delegates  for  the 
state  machine." 

All  this  is  in  striking  contrast  with  the  condition  of  affairs 
in  these  regions  forty  years  ago.  Then  it  was  very  difficult  to 
get  men  to  attend  the  county  conventions,  now  the  number  of 
candidates  anxious  to  go  is  large.  The  corrupt  use  of  money 
has  done  its  deadly  work  and  the  electors  have  degenerated. 
Venality  has  permeated  the  mass  of  voters  and  all  nationalities 
are  equally  tainted.  Men  deliberately  offer  their  votes  to  the 
highest  bidder,  while  cases  become  more  and  more  frequent  of 
men  taking  money  from  both  parties  and  voting  as  they  will. 
A  staunch  Republican  sold  his  vote  for  $2  in  a  recent  election, 
and  when  his  friend  remonstrated,  he  said  :  "  I'll  sell  my  vote 
to  the  d 1  for  $10." 

Representatives  of  the  state  machine  are  sent  to  these  counties 
to  debauch  the  electorate  and  train  its  members  in  knavery.  In 
the  fall  of  1901  they  came  to  Schuylkill  county  to  buy  up  dele- 
gates appointed  at  the  primaries  to  attend  a  local  convention, 
where  two  delegates  were  to  be  chosen  for  the  State  conven- 
tion. The  agent  offered  an  anti-machine  delegate  $20  to  stay 
away  from  the  convention,  and  to  another  man  $25  to  go  out 
of  town.  Two  delegates,  who  were  sent  to  vote  against  the 
machine,  were  bought  over  by  the  agent  for  $70  each  and  two 
railroad  tickets  to  the  Pan-American  Exposition. 

The  increased  expense  incurred  in  running  for  county  offices 


POLITICS   IN    MINING    COMMUNITIES.  319 

has  resulted  in  monopolizing  them.  Men  of  limited  means 
cannot  hope  to  secure  nominations.  A  candidate  for  judge  of 
common  pleas  recently  asked  the  county  machine  to  endorse 
him.  The  committee  was  willing  on  condition  that  he  would 
send  them  forthwith  his  check  for  $1,000.  He  refused  and 
denounced  the  exorbitant  demand  as  un-American  and  ruinous 
in  its  tendency  to  our  free  institutions.  He  was  none  the 
better.  The  machine  went  on,  placed  a  man  in  the  field  and 
elected  him. 

Monetary  considerations  are  not  the  only  motives  which 
drive  men  into  politics.  It  is  really  gambling  and  the  gam- 
bling instinct  has  here  free  play.  Many  men,  who  are  strictly 
honest  and  upright  in  business,  will  cheat,  bribe,  prevaricate 
and  defraud  in  politics.  One  of  the  most  successful  politicians 
in  Schuylkill  county  was  a  born  gambler.  His  opponent  in 
one  of  his  many  political  contests  happened  to  be  an  intimate 
friend  with  whom  he  transacted  much  private  business.  One 
day,  the  gambler  came  to  his  friend,  whom  he  knew  to  be  a 
man  of  sterling  integrity  and  of  high  repute  among  the  electors, 
and  said  :  "  John,  in  all  our  business  transactions  I  have  dealt 
justly  by  you,  but  in  this  fight  I  am  going  to  lick  you  and  that 
by  fraud.  I  couldn't  be  honest  with  my  own  mother  in  a 
political  contest."  He  kept  his  word,  but  soon  after  election 
he  found  things  too  tame.  He  left  for  the  turf  and  his  friend 
filled  the  office  for  the  term,  which  was  his  by  right  if  the  votes 
of  the  electors  had  been  honestly  counted.  Monte  Carlo  has 
few  more  thrilling  tales  to  tell  of  the  evils  consequent  on  gam- 
bling than  has  the  politics  of  our  counties.  One  of  the  most 
recent  is  that  of  a  young  man  in  the  Northern  coal  field.  He 
had  labored  hard  to  save  a  few  thousand  dollars  and  had  built 
two  houses.  He  was  popular  and  thought  he  could  get  a 
county  office.  He  got  the  nomination  and  was  assured  by  his 
friends  that  his  election  was  certain.  The  contest  developed  into 
a  very  hard  one  and  after  the  few  thousand  dollars  he  had  in  the 
bank  were  spent,  he  mortgage^  his  houses  and  staked  all  the 
savings  of  his  life  on  the  fight.  He  was  defeated.  The  dis- 
appointment was  more  than  he  could  endure  and  in  six  months 


320  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

he  died  of  a  broken  heart.  We  knew  a  man  in  medium  cir- 
cumstances staking  all  he  had  on  an  election  and  obliged  to 
borrow  money  to  get  his  dinner  and  pay  his  fare  home  the 
day  of  election.  It  is  running  for  a  prize ;  if  the  candidate 
wins  he  is  saved,  if  he  loses  he  is  ruined.  An  officer  of 
Luzerne  county  confessed  that  he  had  spent  in  a  contest  $3,500 
in  cash  and  lost  three  months'  time  going  the  round  of  the  300 
precincts.  The  office  was  worth  $4,000  a  year.  He  was  now 
running  for  the  second  term  and  had  about  $7,000  saved. 
"  If,"  he  said,  "  I  lose,  I  will  be  worse  off  than  when  first  I 
sought  the  office."  In  the  election  of  last  November  one  of 
the  candidates  in  Schuylkill  county  spent  over  $5, 000.  He  was 
defeated  and  now  has  a  mortgage  of  $3,000  to  pay. 

The  amount  of  money  spent  by  candidates  is  not  uniform. 
It  depends  on  the  value  of  the  prize  sought,  the  number  of 
men  on  the  ticket,  the  wealth  and  the  generosity  of  the  appli- 
cant for  office  and  his  capacity  to  make  a  bargain.  Most  men 
are  willing  to  spend  a  sum  equal  to  one  year's  salary  of  the 
office  they  seek.  Some  candidates  do  not  know  exactly  how 
much  they  spend,  others  keep  an  accurate  account  of  every 
dollar.  The  temper  of  the  people  also  has  much  to  do  with 
the  effect  of  money  spent  on  election.  If  a  wave  of  indignation 
moves  the  masses  in  one  direction,  money,  lavishingly  spent, 
falls  short  of  the  desired  result. 

The  campaign  is  managed  by  a  county  committee  which 
assesses  each  candidate  according  to  the  value  of  the  office 
which  he  seeks.  This  money  is  spent  for  printing,  revising  the 
registry  of  voters,  engaging  speakers  to  stump  the  county  and 
manning  the  precincts  on  election  day.  The  assessment  varies 
according  to  the  number  of  candidates  running.  It  costs  candi- 
dates generally  from  $30  to  $80  to  register,  and  after  the  nomi- 
nation they  are  assessed  from  $200  to  $1,000.  They  are  then 
supposed  to  go  through  the  county  for  about  three  months  and, 
each  day,  a  candidate  will  spend  from  $15  to  $20.  It  will  also 
cost  him  from  $400  to  $600  to  man  the  polls  on  election  day. 
Some  25  or  30  papers  will  be  anxious  to  serve  him,  and  he  must 
spend  on  each  of  these  an  average  of  $10.  If  he  is  "  green  "  the 


POLITICS   IN    MINING    COMMUNITIES.  321 

newspapers  may  run  a  heavy  bill.  A  rich  candidate  appeared 
in  Luzerne  county  not  long  ago,  who  was  not  versed  in  the  way 
of  politics.  One  of  the  papers  asked  him  if  it  should  boom  his 
candidacy  and  the  man  said,  "  Certainly,  go  ahead."  At  the 
close  of  the  campaign  a  bill  for  $380  was  presented  him  by  the 
firm  and  the  editor  sent  him  a  bill  for  $50  extra  for  the  glamor 
he  threw  over  the  candidate  in  his  glowing  articles. 

The  free  use  of  money  before  and  on  election  day  proves  that 
the  venality  of  electors  is  great.  No  sooner  has  a  candidate 
declared  his  intentions  to  run  for  a  nomination  than  he  is  be- 
sieged by  an  army  of  parasites  who  represent  some  club,  or 
organization.  Heads  of  political  clubs  also  come,  each  affirm- 
ing that  he  can  command  a  certain  number  of  votes.  Most 
of  these  clubs  are  associated  with  saloons  and  their  quest  is  "  free 
beer."  One  of  our  saloons  had  on  tap  "  free  beer,"  for  three 
nights  of  each  week,  for  three  months  previous  to  the  last  election. 
It  was  the  contribution  of  the  candidates  to  the  political  club 
that  watched  over  their  interests  in  that  ward.  Fire  companies 
are  also  after  the  candidates  and  these  "  hose  houses  "  are  sup- 
plied, before  election,  with  something  beside  chemicals  for  fire 
purposes.  On  the  Fourth  of  July,  1902,  a  candidate  for  the 
Legislature  was  besieged  by  75  parties,  each  of  whom  wanted  a 
keg  of  beer  to  drink  in  his  honor  on  the  holiday.  Before  the 
day  was  ended  the  man  had  to  go  to  hiding  to  avoid  the 
plague.  Another  candidate  of  last  fall  was  notified  by  a  club 
150  strong,  that  it  would  hold  a  supper  on  a  certain  date  and 
would  be  pleased  to  have  him  furnish  the  necessaries  for  the 
feast.  Clubs  of  all  sorts  arrange  their  annual  dances  about 
election  time  and  send  a  pack  of  tickets  to  each  of  the  candi- 
dates. The  Sclavs  have  brought  their  efforts  down  to  business 
principles.  Their  clubs  send  their  agents  to  the  candidates  to 
inform  them  that  the  organization  commands  so  many  votes 
and  is  open  for  bids  and  that  the  highest  bidder  will  get  them^ 
Even  religious  organizations  are  not  above  availing  themselves 
of  an  approaching  election  to  wheedle  money  from  candidates 
upon  whom  they  have  no  claim  whatsoever.  The  army  of  men 
asking  legislators  for  passes  on  the  railroads  is  innumerable. 
22 


322  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

One  of  the  legislators  lately  kept  record  of  the  number  of  appli- 
cants and  his  list  at  the  close  of  one  month  contained  250 
names.  He  served  notice  on  his  friends,  saying  "  The  railroads 
did  not  come  to  my  possession  with  the  office."  The  Sclavs 
follow  the  cue  given  them  by  the  Anglo-Saxons,  but  the  latter 
have  very  little  more  to  show  these  apt  pupils  of  political  cor- 
ruption. In  many  of  our  towns,  and  especially  in  Schuylkill 
county,  the  Sclavs  hold  the  balance  of  power. 

The  price  paid  for  votes  depends  upon  the  contest.  If  it 
is  very  close  the  price  may  advance  to  $2  and  $3  a  vote. 
Generally,  however,  the  rate  does  not  exceed  50  cents  each  for 
Anglo-Saxon  votes,  while  those  of  the  Sclavs  come  cheaper.  A 
\  Sclav  political  boss,  controlling  100  votes  in  a  mining  camp  in 
Luzerne  county,  offered  them  to  one  of  the  agents  of  candidates 
for  office  for  $20.  The  manager  said,  "  Too  dear,  we  can  get 
that  kind  of  votes  for  ten  cents  each."  It  is  impossible  to  say 
what  percentage  of  the  electors  are  venal.  In  every  town  in 
these  coal  fields  there  is  a  gang  of  "  floaters,"  strong  enough 
numerically  to  decide  the  election.  These  persons  mercilessly 
bleed  the  candidates  for  office.  When  the  election  is  uncertain, 
money  is  freely  used  on  election  day  to  buy  these  "floaters,"  and 
men  who  know  the  power  of  money  say  as  did  Louis  XIV.  on 
one  occasion:  "After  all,  it  is  the  last  louis  d'or  which  must  win." 

Is  it  strange  then  that  these  men,  who  have  been  bled  by  an 
army  of  electors  before  they  were  elected  to  office,  are  anxious, 
when  in  office,  to  replenish  their  treasury  as  rapidly  as  possible 
^nd,  in  their  anxiety,  forget  to  do  so  in  constitutional  ways? 
IFew  of  these  men  are  above  corruption  and  the  standard  set  by 
the  famous  Pitt,  who  said  :  "  I  will  not  go  to  Court  if  I  may 
not  bring  the  Constitution  with  me,"  is  seldom  thought  of  by  the 
best  of  them.  They  are  the  victims  of  despicable  schemes  of 
electors,  who  organize  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  hold  up  the 
■candidates,  and  when  elected  to  office  their  opportunity  comes 
and  they  are  anxious  to  reap  as  much  as  "  there's  in  it."  This 
is  one  of  the  chief  reasons  that  they  plan  jobs  and  give  them  tc 
favorites,  that  they  spend  the  people's  money  in  clerk  hire  and 
needless  printing,  and  that  each  department,  with  the  conni- 


POLITICS   IN   MINING   COMMUNITIES.  323 

vance  of  the  commissioners,  largely  follows  its  own  will  in  its 
expenditures.  One  of  the  scandals  recently  exposed  in  the 
Pottsville  Court  House  in  connection  with  the  Schuylkill  Alms- 
house was,  that  the  poor  directors,  having  the  power  to  appoint 
officials,  elected  those  only  who  consented  to  a  "rake-off"  of  a 
certain  percentage  of  their  salaries.  The  only  restraint  upon 
the  politician's  greed  is  volunteer  organizations  which  are  com- 
prised of  competent  men  versed  in  the  law  and  the  Constitution 
of  the  State,  so  that  they  may  prosecute  those  who  take  money 
while  in  office  in  other  ways  than  the  legal  and  constitutional 
ones.  The  Tax-payers'  Association  of  Schuylkill  county  has 
done  good  service  in  this  regard,  but  it  has  only  been  able  to 
effect  its  purpose  by  continued  vigilance  from  year  to  year,  and 
persistent  appeal  to  Court  to  compel  the  officers  to  abide  by  the 
Constitution  and  to  force  controllers  to  refund  moneys  paid 
contrary  to  the  law.  But  notwithstanding  the  vigilance  of 
these  public-spirited  men,  the  politicians  keep  them  busy.  In 
many  of  our  boroughs  tax  collectors  are  appointed  whose  bonds 
are  worthless  and  the  large  balances  due  the  county  cannot  be 
collected.  Items  of  needless  expenditures  appear  in  the  Con- 
troller's reports  every  year  and  the  appeals  made  in  former 
years  show  that  "  there  is  little  probability  of  any  action  on 
such  matters."  Last  year  the  treasurer  refused  to  turn  over 
f2,500  interest  money  into  the  county  treasury  on  the  plea 
that  he  did  not  know  who  was  entitled  to  the  cash.  The 
Coroner  of  Schuylkill  county  investigated  deaths  which  needed 
no  inquest,  held  irregular  inquests,  returned  duplicate  charges, 
etc.,  which  if  withheld,  would  have  cut  down  that  year's  earn- 
ings of  about  $10,000  fully  50  per  cent.,  but  notwithstanding 
the  protest  of  the  association  he  was  paid  in  full.  Clerks  and 
deputies  were  paid  salaries  when  the  earnings  of  the  offices  were 
not  sufficient  to  meet  them.  The  assessors'  fees  have  increased 
each  year,  so  that  now  it  amounts  to  $20,000,  one  third  of 
which  ought  to  be  cut  off.  The  jurors  drawn  in  all  our  courts 
have  been  under  political  influence,  and  in  each  county  the 
costs  of  ignored  bills  have  been  placed  upon  the  tax-payers, 
which  accounts  for  the  large  number  of  needless  suits  returned 


324  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

by  justices  of  the  peace.  The  above-mentioned  association  has 
put  a  stop  to  this  practice  in  Schuylkill  county  by  placing  the 
costs  on  the  litigants,  which  has  had  the  salutary  effect  of 
reducing  the  number  of  suits  one  half. 

The  members  of  the  Legislature  are  also  said  to  be  anxious 
to  replenish  themselves.  The  following  anecdote  well  illus- 
trates the  attitude  of  the  average  member.  One  of  the  men 
elected  to  the  Legislature  of  1901  was  congratulated  on  his  suc- 
cessful resistance  of  the  bribes  offered  by  the  machine  which, 
in  some  instances,  had  gone  up  to  $1,500  and  f  2,000  per  vote, 
when  he  replied  :  "  Yes,  but  1  wish  to  tell  you  right  here,  that 
they  have  come  damned  near  my  mark.'' 

Ex-Lieutenant-Governor  Watres,  speaking  last  summer  in 
Altoona,  criticised  the  Legislature  of  1901,  which  was  dom- 
inated by  the  party  to  which  he  belongs,  in  the  following  terms  : 
"  To-day  the  proud  State  of  Pennsylvania  stands  before  her 
sister  States  with  shame  and  confusion  of  face.  The  Legisla- 
ture of  1901  brought  merited  reproach,  not  only  upon  the  party, 
but  upon  the  Commonwealth.  Commercial  politics  have  well- 
nigh  wrought  the  party's  ruin.  Bribery  has  run  rampant. 
Election  frauds  have  been  winked  at.  The  people's  rights 
have  been  laughed  at,  and  those  who  plead  for  them  have  been 
turned  to  scorn." 

The  Men  Who  Sit  in  "Council  Chambers." 
The  character  of  our  boroughs  and  townships  is  not  uniform, 
but  the  character  of  the  people  reflects  itself  in  the  personnel 
of  the  council  and  board  of  directors.  In  Schuylkill  county 
there  are  two  boroughs  not  far  from  each  other  ;  the  one  is  con- 
servative and  economical  in  its  management  of  affairs ;  the 
other  has  always  been  notorious  for  its  wastefulness  and  reck- 
lessness in  the  management  of  public  funds.  In  Nanticoke, 
Luzerne  county,  the  character  of  the  town  council  is  unsavory 
and  many  respectable  men  will  not  consent  to  run  for  a  seat  on 
it,  but  the  board  of  directors  is  above  suspicion  and  the  best 
citizens  of  the  borough  consider  it  an  honor  to  be  elected  to  the 
body.     In  Lackawanna  county  there  are  two  boroughs  whose 


POLITICS   IN    MINING   COMMUNITIES.  326 

affairs  are  managed  very  differently.  The  one  council  voted  a 
street  railway  franchise  into  the  pocket  of  its  president ;  the 
other  body  insisted  on  taxing  the  property  of  the  street  railroad 
in  the  borough  and  turned  several  hundreds  of  dollars  annually 
into  the  public  treasury.  One  borough  spent  $1,200  on  a  fire 
alarm  system  that  constantly  got  out  of  order,  while  another 
got  satisfactory  service  out  of  a  $400  one.  The  borough  of 
Nanticoke,  with  12,000  population,  spent  about  $8,000  on  a 
municipal  building,  but  Edwardsville,  with  only  5,000  popu- 
lation, spent  $18,000  on  such  a  building,  $8,000  of  which  was 
for  extras.  These  differences  in  the  management  of  boroughs 
and  the  use  made  of  public  funds  depend  upon  the  personnel 
of  the  council,  which  again  reflects  the  character  of  the  electors 
in  the  borough. 

The  moral  quality  of  the  council  or  the  school  board  of 
directors  seldom  rises  to  the  level  of  that  of  the  average  citizen 
in  the  borough.  We  have  known  men  of  unquestionable  integ- 
rity positively  to  refuse  the  request  of  their  fellow-citizens  to 
enter  the  council  of  a  borough,  because  they  would  not  be  seen 
in  company  with  the  men  who  occupied  seats  therein.  A  man 
of  honest  purpose  cannot  long  occupy  a  seat  among  selfish  and 
unscrupulous  men,  bent  on  serving  their  own  and  not  the 
people's  interest.  He  is  helpless  to  effect  reform  and  in  disgust 
he  leaves  a  body  of  men  the  majority  of  whom  is  dominated 
by  egoism  and  rudeness.  Reformers,  who  have  tried  to  pre- 
vent dickering  and  jobbery,  have  been  subjected  to  such  abuse 
and  scurrilousness  by  foul-mouthed  scoundrels  as  is  only  heard 
in  quarrels  in  low  bar-rooms  or  in  fights  among  the  outcast  of 
society.  Few  men  are  willing  to  submit  to  this  and  accomplish 
nothing  for  the  public  weal.  The  character  of  town  councils 
in  many  boroughs  in  the  counties  of  Lackawanna  and  Luzerne 
has  been  such  that  the  Lehigh  Valley  and  the  Delaware  & 
Hudson  companies  have  forbidden  their  foremen  and  assistant 
foremen  from  entering  these  bodies. 

The  Irish- Americans  are  among  the  most  successful  in  the 
political  life  of  these  coal  fields.  In  a  borough  where  they 
formed  only  35  per  cent,  of  the  population,  74.8  per  cent,  of 


326  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

the  total  number  of  councilmen  for  the  last  ten  years  was  of 
Irish  descent,  and  out  of  one  hundred  persons  who  held 
remunerative  offices  in  the  borough  during  the  decade,  81 
per  cent,  was  Irish.  This  aggressive  people  is  far  more 
successful  in  getting  into  office  by  the  vote  of  the  electors 
than  the  representatives  of  any  other  nation  in  our  territory. 

The  saloon  is  also  a  very  important  factor  in  our  politics. 
All  through  our  boroughs  and  townships  the  primaries  and 
elections  are  held  in  saloons.  There  are  no  other  places  avail- 
able, for  they  cannot  be  held  in  school  buildings,  and  churches 
will  not  open  their  doors.  All  the  ballots  cast  in  mining  towns 
'  are  polled  in  the  stench  of  beer,  and  although  saloons  are  leg- 
ally closed  on  election  days,  men  connected  with  the  election 
get  "  tight ''  before  the  day  is  over. 

Saloonists  also  are  directly  interested  in  elections.  In  the 
borough  of  Olyphant  for  the  last  decade  (1891-1901)  the 
saloonists  formed  on  an  average  one  third  of  the  number  of 
councilmen.  Besides  these,  others  were  indirectly  connected 
with  saloons,  so  that  directly  or  indirectly  43.3  per  cent,  of  the 
seats  was  under  the  control  of  the  saloon.  In  nearly  all  our 
boroughs  2  or  3  out  of  12  members  in  council  are  saloonists. 
These  men  carry  far  greater  influence  on  the  action  of  the  coun- 
cil than  their  numerical  strength  would  suggest.  The  saloon- 
keeper is  generally  an  active  man  and  manages  to  organize  a 
clique  which  regularly  meets  in  his  house.  This  coterie,  held 
in  line  by  drink  and  cigars,  invariably  does  the  bidding  of  the 
chief.  In  Nanticoke,  last  year,  a  saloonist  and  a  band  of  Polish 
coupcilmen  dominated  the  affairs  of  the  borough.  It  is  the  rule 
in  most  boroughs  that  the  money  received  from  licenses  is  to  be 
spent  in  road  repairs.  The  saloonists  generally  get  their  men 
into  this  work  and  the  borough  orders  find  their  way  into  their 
business  places.  A  man  who  had  closely  watched  the  manipu- 
lations of  saloonists  in  selecting  men  for  street  work  said  that 
from  40  to  60  per  cent,  of  the  orders  paid  these  men  went  into 
the  hands  of  the  saloonists.  When  the  treasury  of  the  borough 
is  low,  some  of  these  men  cash  the  orders  at  a  25  per  cent,  dis- 
count. 


POLITICS   IN   MINING   COMMUNITIES.  327 


The  Sclavs  enter  politics  more  and  more  each  year.  A 
Polander  was  recently  mayor  of  Shenandoah  and  made  as  good 
an  official  as  the  average  Anglo-Saxon  incumbent.  A  Sclav 
justice  of  the  peace  in  Nanticoke  was  the  first  to  comply  with 
the  law  to  return  all  fines  collected  under  the  compulsory  school 
attendance  act  to  the  school  funds.  In  1891  none  of  the  coun- 
cil (12  in  number)  of  Shenandoah  was  Sclav;  in  1902  five  of 
the  members  were.  In  this  largest  borough  in  Schuylkill 
county  they  hold  the  majority  vote  in  three  out  of  five  wards, 
and  46  per  cent,  of  the  electoral  vote  is  in  their  hands.  In 
Nanticoke  the  majority  of  the  council  of  1901  was  Sclav  and 
in  1902  five  of  the  members  were  of  that  race.  In  addition  to 
this  they  hold  two  seats  on  the  Board  of  School  Directors ; 
one  of  the  two  justices  of  the  peace  is  a  Sclav ;  so  also  are 
the  tax  collector,  the  borough  treasurer  and  the  street  commis- 
sioner. The  Sclavs  are  shrewd.  If  two  candidates  from  among 
them  try  for  the  same  office,  a  caucus  is  held,  a  vote  taken  and 
the  one  who  gets  the  largest  number  of  votes  runs.  The  Sclavs 
seldom  divide  their  vote ;  they  invariably  move  in  a  mass. 
Every  year  they  enter  politics  in  larger  numbers  and  the  very 
men  who,  a  few  years  ago,  abused  and  maligned  the  Sclav  as 
the  curse  of  the  anthracite  coal  fields,  now  refer  to  them  as 
"American  citizens,  loyal  to  the  American  flag  and  proud  of 
the  land  of  their  adoption ;  they  are  striving  for  the  elevation 
of  themselves  and  their  children  and  endeavoring  to  merit  the 
esteem  of  the  people  with  whom  they  are  associated."  Politi- 
cians are  keen  to  read  the  signs  of  the  times.  Sclavs,  who  have 
entered  the  councils  of  some  of  our  boroughs,  are  not  so  venal 
as  the  average  Anglo-Saxon  member.  But,  somehow,  these 
people  are  quick  to  learn  the  tricks  of  their  predecessors  and 
the  danger  lies  in  the  Sclavs  imitating  the  "  spoils  system," 
which  is  now  the  basic  principle  of  our  political  life,  and  fall- 
ing into  deeper  corruption  than  is  now  practiced  in  our  bor- 
oughs. As  long  as  the  elections  are  dominated  by  corrupt  and 
unscrupulous  men,  the  type  of  borough  officials  will  not  improve. 
A  radical  change  in  state,  city  and  borough  politicians  must 
come  before  men  elected  to  office  will  feel  it  their  duty  to  con- 


328  ANTHRACITE   COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

duct  the  affairs  of  the  borough  as  they  would  those  of  their 
own. 

The  history  of  some  cases,  tried  in  our  courts,  of  public 
officials  abusing  their  power  is  the  best  evidence  of  the  need  of 
reform.  A  coterie  of  men  in  the  councils  of  Scranton  formed 
a  combination  to  favor  the  street  railway  company  for  the 
consideration  of  being  entered  on  its  monthly  pay-roll.  The 
Municipal  League  of  Scranton  exposed  corrupt  practices  of 
public  officials  in  the  city  government  which  stirred  every  hon- 
est citizen  to  indignation,  and  yet  the  public  censure  was  not 
strong  enough  to  demand  that  these  men  be  punished  to  the 
extreme  limit  of  the  law.  Intelligent  men  argued,  they  are  no 
worse  than  others  in  office,  and  corrupt  practices  have  grown 
by  years  of  indifference  on  the  part  of  the  people  to  dishonest 
administration  of  municipal  affairs,  and  why  should  these  men 
be  punished  above  their  fellows  equally  deep  in  crime  ?  The 
public  conscience  also  demanded  the  prosecution  of  the  com- 
panies which  gave  the  bribes.  This  was  not  done  and  the 
reason,  as  some  alleged,  was  that  "  some  high  heads  would  be 
made  low."  The  cases  of  Olyphant,  Winton,  Lackawanna 
township,  the  almshouse  of  Schuylkill  Haven,  etc.,  all  reveal  a 
sad  condition  of  affairs,  and  when  the  culprits  are  brought 
before  the  bar,  all  that  is  required  of  them  is  that  they  re- 
sign from  office  and  restore  the  money  which  they  have  mis- 
appropriated. 

In  the  quest  for  public  office  in  boroughs  and  townships 
money  plays  an  important  part,  though  not  so  great  a  part  as 
in  county  offices.  The  councilmen  spend  from  $25  to  $150  in 
running  for  office.  This  is  spent  among  the  "  boys  "  to  secure 
them  cigars  and  beer.  The  average  member  is  anxious  to  get 
something  out  of  the  borough  office,  although  he  knows  before 
he  is  elected  that  there  is  no  remuneration  in  it.  They  gener- 
ally ask,  however,  "  what's  in  it,"  and,  before  their  term  is 
over,  they  have  found  out  ways  whereby  their  beer  and  cigars 
have  been  secured  and,  in  some  instances,  something  more. 
There  are  in  each  borough  several  remunerative  offices  at  the 
disposal  of   the  council,  and   when  these    are  distributed  the 


POLITICS   IN    MINING    COMMUNITIES.  329 

shrewd  politiciaa  invariably  remembers  some  relative  or  friend 
who  is  just  fitted  for  the  position. 

How  Are  Our  Boroughs  Managed? 
In  the  hands  of  men  of  the  character  we  have  described,  it 
is  not  strange  that  municipal  government  is  corrupt.  In  the 
three  counties  Lackawanna,  Luzerne  and  Schuylkill,  over  two 
and  a  quarter  millions  of  dollars  are  annually  handled  by  the 
men  in  office,  which  amounts  to  about  $2.79  per  capita  of  pop- 
ulation. Besides  this,  there  passes  through  the  hands  of 
borough  and  township  officials  taxes  to  the  average  amount  of 
$1.70  per  capita  of  population,  which  aggregates  to  about 
$680,000  in  mining  towns.  We  have  left  out  of  the  count 
the  appropriations  made  for  public  schools  as  well  as  the  State 
appropriation  received  in  each  borough  and  township.  These 
large  sums  of  money  annually  distributed  is  the  lure  for  the 
politicians,  and  the  service  rendered  for  these  vast  sums  is 
often  more  mischievous  than  beneficial  to  the  municipality. 
The  sums  collected,  however,  are  not  enough  for  the  politicians ; 
in  every  borough  there  is  a  load  of  indebtedness  which  in  many 
instances  has  passed  beyond  the  legal  bound  set  for  the  bor- 
rowing capacity  of  the  boroughs.  In  Olyphant  and  Winton 
boroughs  and  in  Lackawanna  township  no  one  knew  the  in- 
debtedness incurred  until  the  court  appointed  auditors  to  find 
out  and  then  decreed  a  special  assessment  to  liquidate  it.  In 
the  borough  of  Olyphant  the  treasurer  had  been  allowed  for 
years  five  per  cent,  on  all  money  received  and  three  per 
cent,  on  all  money  paid  out,  until  the  court,  moved  by  the 
Delaware  and  Hudson  Company,  ruled  that  the  treasurer  re- 
ceived compensation  far  in  excess  of  the  services  rendered.  In 
this  borough  also  councilmen  drew  on  the  treasury  in  one  year 
sums  aggregating  $629  by  taking  trips  to  adjoining  boroughs 
in  the  alleged  interest  of  the  people,  for  which  they  charged 
$2.50  a  day,  which  was  also  declared  illegal  by  the  court.  In 
Lackawanna  township  the  auditor  appointed  by  court  spent 
eighteen  months  wading  through  the  intricacies  of  the  accounts 
left  by  incompetent  and  careless  officials.     His   investigation 


330  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

resulted  in  marshalling  an  indebtedness  of  over  $41,000,  and  his 
own  bill  of  expenses  in  the  work  amounted  to  over  $5,000. 
In  the  borough  of  Olyphant  the  auditor  found  the  indebtedness 
amounting  to  over  $42,000.  In  Edwardsville  the  indebted- 
ness of  the  borough  has  passed  its  limits  and  in  order  to 
borrow  $6,000  to  construct  a  sewer  it  had  to  obtain  special 
permission  from  the  court.  In  Nanticoke  the  debt  has 
reached  the  limit  of  the  borough's  borrowing  power.  One 
borough  of  6,000  population  gives  its  treasurer  about  $1,000  a 
year,  in  another  of  double  the  population  the  salary  of  that 
official  is  only  $250,  and  a  storekeeper  in  the  latter  place 
offered  to  take  the  office  without  compensation  ;  he  would  get 
his  returns  in  filling  borough  orders  over  the  counter. 

The  average  politician  feels  no  compunction  in  taking  money 
from  the  borough  or  county  treasury  without  giving  adequate 
service  in  return.  In  all  our  counties  the  salaries  are  out  of 
proportion  to  the  services  rendered,  and  the  men  drawing  these 
salaries  could  not  make  half  so  much  if  engaged  in  any  other 
line  of  business.  One  of  our  sheriffs  makes  nearly  $100,000 
in  three  years,  and  a  district  attorney  over  $10,000  a  year. 
Clerks  in  court  houses  draw  from  $75  to  $100  a  month  when 
they  could  not  earn  more  than  half  that  amount  in  clerical 
work  open  to  competition.  In  February  last,  the  Tax-payers' 
Association  of  Schuylkill  county  moved  court  to  serve  an 
injunction  on  the  controller  forbidding  payment  of  the  salaries 
of  clerks  in  the  court  house,  because  their  writing  was  so  poor 
that  the  records  could  not  be  read. 

In  boroughs,  there  is  a  woeful  lack  of  common  honesty  in 
the  performance  of  labor  for  the  municipality.  In  one  of  the 
best  managed  in  our  territory  the  president  of  the  council  said 
that  labor  of  all  kinds  costs  the  borough  from  25  to  35  per 
cent,  more  than  a  private  individual  could  get  it  for.  And  this 
lack  of  conscience  in  the  discharge  of  public  service  character- 
izes men  whose  education  and  training  ought  to  raise  them 
above  it.  A  lawyer,  in  one  of  our  boroughs,  asked  for  $50  to 
meet  the  incidental  expenses  of  a  suit.  He  got  the  cash  and 
at  the  close  of  the  year  turned  in  the  bills  for  the  incidental 


POLITICS   IN   MINING   COMMUNITIES.  331 

expenses  incurred.  The  council  of  one  of  our  towns  wanted  a 
borough  map.  An  engineer  was  engaged  at  $7  a  day  and  after 
his  bill  amounted  to  $977.86  he  was  discharged.  A  member  of 
the  council  asked,  after  the  bill  was  paid,  "  Where  is  the  map  ?" 
No  one  knew.  About  a  year  later,  a  servant  in  one  of  the 
saloons  was  cleaning  the  cellar  and  had  collected  the  refuse  to 
burn  it.  Some  one  happened  to  see  a  roll  amid  the  mass,  and 
lo !  it  was  the  missing  map  which  cost  the  borough  nearly  a 
$1,000  !  Two  streets  were  surveyed  in  the  same  borough  and 
the  work  cost  about  $650.  In  another  borough,  two  constables, 
hired  to  keep  the  peace,  were  found  one  evening  drunk,  lying 
in  the  gutter,  and  although  some  of  the  indignant  citizens 
demanded  their  removal  the  indulgent  hand  of  the  machine 
protected  its  minions. 

Of  all  the  inefficient  services  rendered  the  boroughs  possi- 
bly the  worst  of  all  is  that  of  road  repairing.  A  prominent 
citizen  of  Ed wardsville  said  :  "Last  year  [1902]  $2,000  were 
spent  on  the  roads  of  our  borough  and  I  would  like  to  know 
where  is  the  improvement?"  Another  citizen  of  Nanticoke 
said  :  "  $3,800  was  spent  on  our  roads  and  not  $500  worth  of 
work  given,  and  for  the  year  1902-1903  the  street  committee 
asked  for  $4,500  and  the  park  committee  for  $1,500  to  paint, 
etc.,  a  small  building  erected  in  the  park.''  In  the  borough  of 
Olyphant  a  sum  has  been  spent  on  the  streets  during  the  last 
decade  which,  if  economically  used,  would  have  been  ample  to 
give  brick  pavement  on  the  principal  thoroughfares  of  the 
town.  Men  are  paid  $1.50  a  day  for  eight  hours'  labor  on  the 
streets  when  they  do  not  do  75  cents'  worth  of  work. 

And  not  only  do  petty  officials  plunder  the  public  treasury 
but  leading  citizens  in  boroughs  also  shirk  their  part  of  the 
burden  of  taxation  if  by  any  crook  they  can  do  so.  In  a 
borough  where  a  sewer  was  put  in,  three  or  four  professional 
men,  because  of  their  superior  knowledge  of  the  law,  escaped 
paying  their  assessments,  while  the  mine  employees,  who  owned 
property,  paid  their  share.  In  another  borough  where  im- 
provements in  the  street  were  made,  about  a  dozen  leading 
business  men  refused  to  pay  their  part  because  of  a  technicality 


332  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

whereby  they  escaped  their  obligations.  The  debt,  which 
amounted  to  nearly  $1,000  and  had  been  standing  for  several 
years,  was  removed  from  the  assets  of  the  borough  by  a  motion 
from  one  of  the  councilmen  who  said  "  It's  a  dead  dog  anyhow." 
In  each  of  the  above  instances  the  service  was  rendered  and 
the  men  received  the  benefit  of  the  improvement,  but  their 
sense  of  moral  obligation  was  such  that  they  shirked  their  duty 
when  they  knew  that  they  could  not  be  compelled  to  pay  the 
bill.  It  was  as  much  of  a  robbery  of  public  funds  as  is  the 
plunder  of  petty  politicians.  Men  who  serve  boroughs  believe 
they  can  render  less  service  for  the  money  received  than  when 
performing  work  for  private  parties.  Coal  haulers  were  de- 
tected, a  few  years  ago  in  two  of  our  boroughs,  delivering 
coal,  which  should  go  to  the  public  schools,  into  the  cellar  of  a 
parasite  and  nothing  was  done  about  it.  Another  man  had 
pocketed  the  rent  of  a  borough  property  for  years  and  when 
discovered  he  had  the  audacity  to  deny  all  and  the  politicians 
believed  him.  One  of  the  presidents  of  our  councils  was 
known  to  serve  a  company  which  asked  favors,  and  in  order  to 
clear  himself  of  suspicion  he  asked  his  clique  to  pass  a  vote  of 
confidence  in  him,  and  so  it  did. 

In  officials  as  well  as  in  the  leading  men  of  these  boroughs 
there  is  a  lamentable  deficiency  in  moral  sensitiveness  regarding 
public  funds,  and  although  they  demand  business  integrity  and 
commercial  honesty  in  private  afikirs,  they  connive  at  dis- 
honesty in  public  servants  and  are  themselves  not  above  shirk- 
ing their  obligations  to  the  public  when  they  can  safely  do  so. 

Possibly  a  large  part  of  this  callous  indifference  to  the  public 
weal  and  neglect  of  public  duty  is  due  to  the  fact  that  coal  cor- 
porations pay  a  large  percentage  of  the  taxes.  In  Lackawanna 
county  the  corporations  pay  one  third  of  all  the  taxes.  In 
Schuylkill  county,  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  company 
alone  pays  annually  over  $80,000  taxes,  while  all  the  anthra- 
cite coal  companies  pay  of  State  taxes  the  sum  of  $429,949.69 
and  the  anthracite  railroads  $837,757.32.  In  thirteen  town- 
ships, where  coal  is  mined  in  Schuylkill  county,  the  coal  com- 
panies pay^  from  84  to  97  per  cent,  of  the  taxes,  the  average 


POLITICS   IN    MINING   COMMUNITIES.  333 

being  91.6  per  cent.;  the  total  taxation  amounts  to  $64,573.03. 
In  three  townships,  where  coal  is  mined  in  Northumberland 
county,  the  coal  companies  pay  72  per  cent.,  88.5  per  cent, 
and  60.4  per  cent,  respectively,  while  in  Conyngham  township, 
in  Columbia  county,  they  pay  77.6  per  cent,  of  the  taxes. 
In  the  borough  of  Lansford,  the  Lehigh  Coal  and  Navigation 
company  pays  60.9  per  cent,  of  the  taxes.  Coincident  with 
this  collection  of  taxes  from  the  coal  companies  in  the  above 
mentioned  townships  is  also  the  exoneration  of  a  large  number 
of  individual  taxpayers  in  these  communities.  In  the  thirteen 
townships  in  Schuylkill  county  the  total  taxation  which  fell 
upon  the  persons  residing  there  amounted  to  not  over  $6,000, 
and  $3,697  of  it  was  exonerated.  And  in  the  three  townships 
of  Northumberland  county  the  people  are  supposed  to  pay 
$7,701  for  school  purposes,  while  the  list  of  exonerations 
amounts  to  $3,002. 

From  these  facts  it  is  evident  that  civic  righteousness  is  not 
developed  in  the  average  citizen  of  these  territories.  Fifty  per 
cent,  of  these  men  has  no  scruple  in  taking  municipal  privileges 
without  paying  its  just  share  of  what  they  cost.  Politicians  are 
as  reckless  in  spending  moneys  derived  from  corporations  as  they 
are  ready  to  exonerate  their  "  friends  "  from  their  obligations. 
In  this  study  one  cannot  avoid  the  conclusion  that  the  develop- 
ment of  the  individual  conscience  to  a  right  appreciation  of 
civic  virtue  and  morality  must  precede  all  reform  in  municipal 
government  in  these  coal  fields. 

The  "Board  of  Health"  in  Mining  Towns. 
In  no  sphere  is  the  greed  of  politicians  and  their  neglect  of 
the  people's  interests  more  conspicuous  than  in  the  inadequate 
attention  given  to  the  sanitary  conditions  of  the  boroughs  in 
the  anthracite  coal  fields.  No  department  of  public  service  is 
as  directly  related  to  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  people,  and 
yet  in  a  large  percentage  of  our  boroughs  little  or  no  attention 
is  given  the  subject.  It  has  been  proved  in  thousands  of  in- 
stances that  proper  drainage,  a  plentiful  water  supply,  the  re- 
moval of  decomposing  organic  matter,  improved  paving,  scav- 


334  ANTHRACITE   COAL.   COMMUNITIES. 

enging,  and  public  cleaDliness,  reduce  the  death  rate,  and  that 
many  of  the  scourges  which  prevail  in  our  villages  and  towns 
arise  because  of  lack  of  attention  to  these  things.  The  politi- 
cians care  little  for  this  ;  in  most  instances  the  funds  they 
handle  are  too  small  to  go  the  round,  so  that  little  can  be  spared 
and  with  reluctance  appropriations  are  made  for  the  purpose  of 
promoting  the  public  health. 

Barbarous  peoples,  who  know  nothing  of  the  principles  of 
hygiene,  can  be  excused  when  poisonous  matter  accumulates 
around  their  dwellings ;  but  a  civilized  people,  in  whose  schools 
are  daily  taught  the  principles  of  hygiene,  ought  to  guard 
against  nuisances  which  menace  the  health  of  the  people.  Yet 
there  is  not  a  borough  of  4,000  or  more  population  in  our 
territory  where  foul  and  fetid  spots  which  breed  disease  and 
death  are  not  found. 

In  boroughs  where  boards  of  health  are  organized,  the  mem- 
bers are  generally  minions  of  the  machine.  When  a  board  was 
appointed  in  one  of  our  boroughs,  the  first  question  asked  by  one 
of  the  three  members  was,  '^  What's  in  it?"  In  another  bor- 
ough of  12,000  population  we  asked  the  health  officer,  "What 
was  your  death  rate  last  year  ?  "  He  said,  "  I  couldnH  tell,  I 
think  the  certificates  are  in  the  office.''  No  record  of  deaths 
was  kept  in  this  town  for  years  and  yet  it  had  been  visited  by 
small-pox,  while  diphtheria,  typhoid  and  measles  had  carried 
away  scores  of  the  inhabitants.  Why  should  politicians  care 
for  the  health  of  the  people  and  the  diseases  which  kill  ?  There 
is  nothing  in  that  for  them.  Registering  voters  and  preparing 
slates  pay,  but  the  statistics  of  life  and  health  of  the  people, 
what  is  there  in  that  ? 

The  water  supply  of  many  of  these  mountain  towns  is  bad. 
In  one  section  of  the  coal  fields  the  people  complained  that 
they  had  to  drink  water  contaminated  with  culm.  Typhoid 
fever  j)revailed  and  the  secretary  of  the  board  of  health  wrote  : 
"  Whether  or  not  this  [mixing  of  the  culm  with  the  water]  con- 
tributes to  our  increase  of  typhoid  fever  has  yet  to  be  settled." 
In  1900,  six  towns  in  the  Wyoming  and  Lackawanna  Valleys 
sent  samples  of  the  water  used  by  the  people  to  be  tested  :  two 


POLITICS   IN    MINING   COMMUNITIES.  335 

were  labeled  "  suspicious/'  two  "  usable  "  and  two  "  impure." 
This  water  was  used  by  100,000  people  and  the  municipal 
authorities  had  it  in  their  power  to  compel  the  companies  to 
furnish  wholesome  water  to  the  public.  In  another  town  the 
water  supply,  in  the  summer  months,  ran  through  a  marsh 
where  decaying  organic  matter  accumulated.  The  State 
authorities  were  appealed  to,  but  all  they  could  do  was  to  refer 
the  complainants  to  the  town  council,  which  was  indifferent, 
for  they  drank  no  water.  In  Wyoming,  there  is  a  marsh  which 
has  bred  malaria  from  time  immemorable.  Attempts  have' 
been  made  to  drain  it,  but,  like  all  else  done  at  public  expense, 
the  work  was  poorly  executed,  and  to  improve  things  several 
coal  companies  took  the  liberty  to  turn  in  the  refuse  water  from 
their  breakers  and  washeries,  so  that  it  is  to-day  a  worse  plague 
spot  than  ever,  breeding  malaria  from  which  suffer  the  thou- 
sands of  Wyoming,  Exeter,  West  Pittston,  etc.,  but  the  muni- 
cipal authorities  do  nothing. 

In  1898  and  1900  the  State  Inspector  was  called  to  two 
boroughs  in  Carbon  county,  where  nuisances  existed  which 
menaced  the  public  health,  on  three  different  occasions.  He 
found  parts  of  the  towns  filthy  and  unhealthy,  while  many 
cases  of  diphtheria  prevailed,  arising  chiefly  from  defective  or 
no  sewerage.  But  all  the  Inspector  could  do  was,  in  the  one 
case,  to  recommend  the  organization  of  a  board  of  health,  and 
in  the  other  to  advise  the  board  of  health  and  the  council  to 
work  in  harmony,  so  that  the  streets  and  gutters  might  be 
cleaned,  the  water  closets,  out-houses,  pig-pens,  and  stables  be 
disinfected,  nuisances  be  abated  and  the  lives  and  health  of  the 
little  ones  be  protected.  A  visit  to  the  towns  of  Mahanoy  City 
and  Shenandoah  on  a  summer  day  will  reveal  pest  holes  which 
contaminate  the  air,  while  the  foul  creek  which  runs  through 
the  center  of  the  former  place  ever  emits  poisonous  and  noxious 
gases.  People  live  in  basements  in  these  towns  which  would 
be  condemned  by  the  municipal  authority,  if  it  insisted  on  hygi- 
enic conditions  in  the  abodes  of  the  poor.  People  grow  accus- 
tomed to  noxious  smells  and  they  do  not  mind  them  very  much, 
but  when  a  flood  comes  and  sweeps  the  contents  of  a  vault  into 


336  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

the  cellar  they  protest.  It  matters  little,  however,  for  the 
poor  live  in  cellars  and  the  proprietor  of  the  building  generally 
has  a  pull  in  the  ward,  so  that  he  is  not  made  to  do  what  a 
righteous  administration  should  compel  him  to  do. 

A  recent  report  of  the  inspector  of  public  health  of  Luzerne 
county  is  little  better  than  a  lamentation,  because  of  the  ineffi- 
ciency of  local  boards  of  health  and  the  state  of  criminal  negli- 
gence into  which  they  had  fallen.  He  says  that  the  public  is  cul- 
pably indifferent  and  the  officials  careless,  and  that  there  are  no 
funds  to  hire  inspectors  or  pay  doctors  who  report  contagious 
diseases.  Of  the  sixty-one  cities  and  boroughs  in  the  anthracite 
coal  fields  where  boards  of  health  ought  to  be  organized,  only 
50  per  cent,  make  an  attempt  to  comply  with  the  State  law,  and 
the  majority  of  these  do  their  work  very  unsatisfactorily.  In 
twelve  boroughs,  in  1900,  the  number  of  diphtheria  cases 
amounted  to  2  per  cent,  of  the  population.  This  disease  is 
peculiar  to  children  under  ten  years  of  age  which  form  about 
17.5  per  cent,  of  the  population,  so  that  in  these  towns  two 
cases  of  this  dreadful  disease  prevailed  among  every  17.5  of 
the  children,  or  11.4  per  cent,  of  the  population  under  ten 
years  of  age  was  so  afflicted.  In  the  same  year  110  persons 
died  of  typhoid  fever  and  45  of  scarlet  fever  in  the  above  terri- 
tory. In  ten  boroughs,  with  an  aggregate  population  of  88,706^ 
there  were  1,818  nuisances  abated,  or  10.3  per  cent,  of  the 
houses  in  this  area  were  so  affected  in  one  year. 

Our  towns  and  villages  are  located  in  the  hills,  where  a  plen- 
tiful supply  of  wholesome  water  could  be  easily  procured  and 
good  drainage  effected,  if  engineering  skill  and  considerations 
of  public  health  dominated.  The  principles  of  hygiene  are 
taught  in  our  public  schools ;  they  ought  also  to  be  taught  in 
council  chambers.  Healthy  children  and  happy  homes  would 
be  seen  everywhere  in  these  coal  fields  if  municipal  administra- 
tion were  in  the  hands  of  intelligent  and  public-spirited  men 
and  the  lethargy  and  ignorance  of  the  people  were  more  closely 
scrutinized  and  disciplined. 

The  state  law  requires  that  a  board  of  health  be  organized 
in  every  borough.     This  wise  statute  is  extremely  important 


\}\^\^ 


of         ^  J 


POLITICS   IN   MINING   COMMUNITIES.  337 

when  we  remember  that  in  every  borough  throughout  the 
anthracite  coal  fields  are  found  colonies  of  Sclavs,  most  of  whom 
are  ignorant  of  the  first  principles  of  cleanliness.  The  sections 
of  our  towns  inhabited  by  them  are  often  reeking  with  filth,  and 
the  noxious  smells  which  arise  from  the  streets  and  alleys  tes- 
tify to  the  poisonous  gases  generated  by  the  uncleanly  habits  of 
the  people.  This  accounts  for  the  high  death  rate  among  the 
children  of  the  Sclavs,  and  the  adults  of  this  part  of  our  popu- 
lation are  only  able  to  live  in  these  unwholesome  surroundings 
because  of  a  strong  physique  secured  under  very  different  con- 
ditions on  the  farms  of  their  native  homes.  These  people  have 
come  to  a  higher  civilization  and  no  better  discipline  could  be 
administered  unto  them  than  the  supervision  of  a  competent 
health  officer  in  every  town  who  would,  with  uncompromising 
attitude,  insist  upon  the  observance  of  the  laws  of  hygiene  as 
laid  down  by  the  experience  of  civilized  communities.  Indeed, 
much  tuition  in  this  respect  is  also  needed  by  the  Anglo-Saxons 
in  these  coal  fields.  The  majority  of  the  ills  to  which  our  people 
are  subject  rise  from  ignorance  of  the  conditions  of  health  in 
feeding,  clothing  and  housing  the  body.  In  this  department  of 
public  life,  as  well  as  in  that  of  charities,  there  is  little  hope  of 
progress  as  long  as  the  work  to  be  done  is  left  to  politicians. 
Science  has  its  teachings  upon  these  questions  and  its  dictates 
must  be  heeded  if  social  progress  is  to  be  attained. 

Mining  Municipalities  Owning  Public  Utilities. 

State  socialism  finds  favor  in  many  parts  of  our  country,  and, 

among  others,  some  towns  *  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  believe 

*  Dr.  Frank  Julian  Warae  called  attention  last  fall  to  the  growth  of  social- 
istic sentiment  in  the  anthracite  regions  in  a  series  of  interesting  articles  on 
"Sclav  Invasion  of  the  Anthracite  Region,"  published  in  the  Philadelphia 
Ledger.  The  following  figures  give  the  socialistic  vote  cast  in  the  counties  of 
Lackawanna,  Luzerne  and  Schuylkill  for  the  years  specified  : 

Per  Cent,  of 
Socialist  Vote.  Total  Vote  Cast. 

1900  812  0.9 

1901  2,488  3.1 

1902  18,400  19.5 

1903  2,711  3.3 

In  Carbon  county,  where  the  socialists  seem  to  have  a  larger  following  than 
in  any  other  section  of  the  coal  fields,  the  socialistic  vote  this  year,  as  compared 
23 


338  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

that  municipal  ownership  of  public  utilities  is  the  right  thing. 
The  politicians  seem  to  favor  the  idea,  and  it  may  be  of  interest 
to  the  advocates  of  this  system  briefly  to  record  the  experience 
of  some  of  our  municipalities  which  have  experimented  in  this 
line. 

The  borough  of  Olyphant,  Lackawanna  Co.,  has  constructed 
an  electric  plant  which  has  a  very  interesting  history.  The 
work  was  commenced  in  the  year  1892.  Trouble  began  in  the 
construction  of  the  foundation  wall.  The  contract  was  awarded 
to  an  unreliable  party  who,  having  taken  $273  for  some  work 
done,  abandoned  the  work  and  the  borough  was  forced  to  com- 
plete it  by  hiring  a  competent  mason  at  $3  a  day.  The  sum 
of  $8,000  was  spent  on  the  plant  and  the  air  was  full  of  rumors 
that  more  had  been  paid  for  the  machinery  than  it  was  worth, 
and  the  cost  of  running  the  plant  in  labor  and  supplies  was  un- 
reasonably high.  Before  the  electric  plant  had  seen  two  years' 
service,  the  politicians  said  it  must  be  enlarged  by  the  expen- 
diture of  another  $15,000.  The  council  advertised  for  bids 
and  those  of  the  firms  which  asked  the  highest  prices  were  ac- 
cepted, notwithstanding  reliable  competitors  were  $2,000  lower. 
A  suit  followed  and  the  contracts  were  annulled.  Nothing 
daunted,  the  council  executed  another  with  the  very  same  firms 
in  the  year  1895.  The  engine  and  boiler  of  the  old  plant,  for 
which  the  borough  had  paid  three  years  previous  the  sum  of 
$4,000,  were  sold  for  $800.  Operations  were  begun  on  the 
new  plant  and  citizens  interested  in  it  complained  that  the 
foundation  wall  was  not  in  accordance  with  the  specifications, 
but  the  work  went  on.  The  court,  however,  served  an  injunc- 
tion to  prevent  the  council  from  issuing  the  bonds  for  the 
$15,000  loan.  The  case  was  carried  to  the  supreme  court  and 
in  1897  its  decision  reversed  that  of  the  lower  court.  The  new 
plant,  having  been  a  bone  of  contention  for  three  years,  started 
in  1898.  In  the  following  winter  complaints  were  made  that 
the  motors  did  not  work  satisfactorily  and  that  another  expen- 

with  that  of  1902,  fell  off  over  40  per  cent.  These  figures  clearly  show  that  in- 
dustrial friction  was  the  direct  cause  of  the  increase  of  socialistic  sentiment  in 
our  territory,  and  that  the  restoration  of  peace  and  prosperity  has  arrested 
its  progress. 


POLITICS   IN    MINING   COMMUNITIES.  339 

diture  of  $2,500  or  $3,000  was  necessary  before  all  would  be 
right.  By  this  time  the  patience  of  the  people  was  exhausted, 
but  politicians  are  notorious  for  their  persistency,  and,  in  1903, 
the  above  sum  was  appropriated.  Thus  in  eleven  years,  during 
two  of  which  no  electric  light  was  enjoyed  by  the  people  of  the 
borough  because  of  litigation,  over  $26,000  was  spent  on  an 
electric  plant.  It  has  never  run  smoothly  although  in  the  six 
first  years  of  its  life  the  sum  of  $580.64  was  spent  on  oil.  The 
town  has  never  known  how  much  has  been  spent  for  tools  and 
supplies,  for  some  of  the  secretaries  had  the  habit  of  destroy- 
ing the  account  books,  if  ever  they  kept  any.  Hammers  and 
wrenches,  chisels  and  cans,  disappeared  as  if  they  had  wings. 
A  $38  water  meter  was  stolen  before  it  was  paid  for,  and  the 
material  in  the  foundation  of  the  old  plant  was  carried  away 
piece-meal  without  a  word  of  protest  from  the  council,  for 
some  of  its  leading  members  were  the  chief  transgressors.  The 
council  employed  the  men  necessary  to  run  the  plant,  who  in- 
variably reflected  the  change  incident  to  public  elections.  Men 
were  chosen,  not  because  they  were  capable  and  sober,  but  be- 
cause they  were  cronies  of  the  ruling  faction.  As  long  as  their 
friends  dominated  the  council  they  had  no  boss.  There  was 
no  one  to  enforce  discipline  when  they  grossly  neglected  their 
duty.  The  plant  was  not  cared  for  as  that  of  a  private  corpor- 
ation would  have  been,  and  although  the  council  monopolized 
the  selling  of  globes  and  the  secretary  alone  knew  how  many 
of  them  were  in  the  borough,  no  accurate  account  of  this  item 
of  expenditure  was  ever  given  the  public.  All  the  firms  deal- 
ing in  electric  goods  east  of  Chicago  were  drawn  upon  and  so 
bad  was  the  credit  of  the  borough  that  no  goods  were  forwarded 
save  on  the  C.  O.  D.  basis.  For  weeks  at  a  time  the  plant 
remained  idle  for  the  want  of  supplies  and  with  no  money  on 
hand  to  procure  them. 

From  1895  to  1900  the  borough  has  been  involved  in  17 
suits  arising  from  the  attempt  to  build  an  electric  plant.  There 
is  no  way  of  knowing  how  much  money  has  been  spent  in 
these  suits,  but  the  following  bills  recorded  will  give  some 
idea  :  Sept.,  1895,  $100  ;  Sept.,  1896,  $343  ;  Sept.,  1897,  $355; 


340  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

March,  1899,  $491.50;  a  total  of  $1,289.50.  Municipal 
ownership  of  public  utilities  to  the  above  borough  has  simply 
resulted  in  wastefulness,  inefficiency,  nepotism,  bribery,  litiga- 
tion and  scandal,  and  many  of  the  people  now  say  "  sell  the 
plant  and  end  the  dirty  work." 

The  borough  of  Shenandoah  in  1895  decided  to  construct  a 
water  plant  to  supply  water  to  the  borough.  For  two  years 
the  private  corporation  already  in  town  impeded  the  progress 
of  the  design  and  offered  to  sell  its  plant  to  the  borough  for 
$100,000.  This  offer  was  rejected  and  in  1897  the  citizens 
got  the  right  to  construct  a  plant  of  their  own.  They  invested 
$150,000  in  one.  In  connection  with  the  plant  was  a  receiving 
reservoir.  This,  soon  after  its  construction,  leaked.  The  service 
of  an  expert  was  secured  who  said  it  would  cost  $42,000  to 
make  it  water-proof.  The  money  was  spent  and  yet  the  reser- 
voir leaked.  Another  expert  was  engaged  and  his  report  was 
that  $38,000  was  necessary  to  put  it  in  order.  That  money  was 
also  spent  and  in  January,  1902,  another  defect  was  reported 
which  cost  a  few  thousands  more  to  make  good.  This  money 
has  again  been  spent  and,  this  fall,  the  officers  are  afraid  to  put 
more  than  eight  feet  of  water  in  the  reservoir,  and  have  cut 
down  the  supply  to  1 2  hours  out  of  every  24.  It  is  claimed 
that  a  total  investment  of  nearly  $350,000  has  been  made  and 
yet  in  the  months  of  summer,  when  water  is  most  needed,  the 
mining  population  of  Shenandoah  is  put  on  two  and  three  hours' 
allowance  of  water  every  24  hours,  and  90  per  cent,  of  the  homes 
is  supplied  by  this  plant.  The  receipts  from  the  plant  in  1901 
was  $14,828.80  and  the  cost  of  running  it  $13,547.90  ;  in  1902, 
the  receipts  were  $12,889.38  and  the  running  expenses  $17,- 
895.21.  The  borough  pays  5  per  cent,  on  $209,500  bonds, 
most  of  which  were  issued  to  secure  money  for  the  work.  It 
has  a  competitor  in  the  private  plant,  which  accounts  for  the 
rates  being  25  cents  a  month  for  private  houses  and  50  cents 
for  saloons.  Last  April,  the  rates  were  raised  to  50  cents  a 
family,  but  the  increased  cost  of  fuel  for  the  pumping  engines 
will  consume  most  of  the  increased  income.  Thus,  although 
the  citizens  have  had  a  plant  of  their  own,  they  pay  interest 


POLITICS    IN    MINING    COMMUNITIES.  341 

and  principal  by  taxation  and  in  the  summer  months  suffer  an 
inconvenience  that  is  little  less  than  criminal  in  a  mining  town. 

In  the  construction  of  the  plant  there  seems  to  have  been  a 
lack  of  engineering  skill  or  judgment,  else  the  money  spent 
would  have  given  better  results  to  the  people  of  this  flourishing 
town.  The  supply  of  water  in  the  water-shed  is  abundant ;  the 
fault  is  in  the  foresight  of  the  engineers  to  plan  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  the  borough  every  season  of  the  year. 

The  saloons  and  business  men  of  the  town  get  a  supply  of 
water  from  the  borough  plant  far  in  excess  of  the  rates  they 
pay  if  compared  with  the  amount  paid  by  private  homes. 
When  we  asked  one  of  the  officers  why  they  could  not  adjust 
rates  more  equitably,  he  said  :  "  Political  influence  will  not 
allow  it."  The  politicians  are  afraid  to  offend  the  saloonists 
and  the  business  men  by  a  more  equitable  adjustment  of  rates. 
Thus  the  borough  is  mulcted  annually  to  pay  principal  and 
interest  because  of  the  selfishness  of  business  men  and  the 
timidity  of  politicians.  Here  again,  all  laborers  connected  with 
the  plant  and  residing  in  the  borough  are  changed  when  the 
political  complexion  of  the  council  changes.  The  engineers 
and  firemen  who  operate  the  pumps,  which  are  several  miles 
from  the  borough,  are  not  changed. 

Other  enterprises  undertaken  by  the  municipalities  in  the 
interest  of  the  people  may  be  summed  up  in  the  same  way: 
inefficient  service,  waste  of  public  funds,  political  intrigue, 
nepotism,  litigation  and  vexation  of  spirit. 

How  can  it  be  otherwise?  The  average  citizen  enters  office, 
not  to  serve  the  public,  but  to  seek  his  own  interest.  The 
moment  a  borough  undertakes  a  public  enterprise  the  council- 
men  are  besieged  by  a  score  of  agents  looking  for  a  job  and  the 
most  unscrupulous  offer  the  largest  bribes.  The  men  in  our 
councils  are  for  the  greater  part  employees  in  and  around  the 
mines  and  know  not  the  first  thing  about  business  or  works  of 
public  utility.  Providing  they  are  honest,  how  easy  it  is  for 
men  of  this  stamp  to  fall  victims  to  shrewd  agents,  while  the 
unscrupulous  official  will  follow  the  scamp  who  places  the 
largest  sum  in  his  itching  palm.     What  does  a  miner  know 


342  ANTHRACITE   COAL.   COMMUNITIES. 

about  an  electric  plants  or  a  macadamized  road,  or  a  water 
plant  worth  $350,000?  Eeliable  and  well-established  firms 
have  their  price  and  no  boodle ;  unscrupulous  firms  that  send 
their  agents  to  saloons  to  fix  councilmen  have  their  prices  and 
boodle,  and  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  with  the  composition  of  our 
councils  being  what  it  is,  the  unreliable  gets  the  job. 

Our  people  often  complain  of  the  high  rates  charged  by  pri- 
vate corporations  doing  business  in  boroughs.  How  can  it  be 
otherwise?  A  percentage  of  their  earnings  must  ever  be  laid 
aside  to  satisfy  parasite  councilmen  who  abuse  the  trust  reposed 
in  them.  Street  railways  and  steam  railroads  must  annually 
give  passes  to  councilmen,  saloons  must  give  them  free  cigars 
and  beer,  and  private  citizens  who  have  any  favor  to  ask  must 
indulge  their  sensuous  appetites.  A  corporation  that  comes 
into  town  to  do  business  must  first  of  all  be  "  plucked  "  by  a 
crowd  of  thirsty  knaves  which  ever  look  for  prey.  A  company 
in  one  of  our  boroughs  was  periodically  blackmailed  by  sinister 
members  of  the  council  that  it  may  escape  harass  from  threat- 
ening municipal  restrictions.  To  meet  these  pilferings  of  the 
profits  by  the  servants  of  the  people,  the  private  corporation 
must  charge  a  proportionately  higher  rate  for  the  service  it 
renders.  On  the  other  hand,  attempts  made  by  the  people 
themselves  to  escape  the  exorbitant  charges  of  private  corpora- 
ations,  result  in  inadequate  service  and  higher  taxes,  for  again 
the  politicians  are  there  feeding  on  the  public  body.  In  the 
work  of  both  private  corporations  and  municipal  enterprise  the 
secret  of  exorbitant  charges  lies  in  the  corruption  of  public 
servants,  and  the  curse  will  never  depart  from  our  municipali- 
ties until  the  people  themselves  intelligently  and  conscientiously 
choose  men  of  unquestionable  integrity  and  sterling  honesty  to 
serve  them. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

*'THE  CONCLUSION  OF   THE  WHOLE   MATTER." 

1.  The  Iixs  We  Bear  :  (a)  In  the  Homes  and  in  the  Schools  ;  (6) 
In  Society  and  in  the  Works  ;  (c)  In  the  Boroughs  and  in  the 
Counties.  2.  The  Way  to  [Health  :  (a)  Through  Harrisburg; 
(6)  Through  Personal  Effort  ;  (c)  Through  the  Church. 


The  Ills  We  Bear. 
In  the  Homes  and  in  the  Schools, 

We  saw  in  the  first  chapter  that  the  increase  of  population 
in  our  area  for  the  decade  1890-1900,  was  over  6  per  cent^ 
higher  than  that  of  the  State  in  general.  This  was  largely  due 
to  the  influx  of  Sclavs  and  Italians  as  well  as  the  high  birth 
rate  among  the  prolific  "  foreigners."  Few  have  been  the  im- 
migrants from  Great  Britain  or  Germany  into  these  coal  fields 
in  recent  years.  The  Commissioner  of  Immigration  said  re- 
cently that  70  per  cent,  of  the  immigrants  of  late  years 
intended  to  settle  in  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania  and 
Massachusetts,  and  that  the  percentage  of  British  and  Germans 
among  these  was  insignificant.  This  shows  that  the  available 
supply  of  cheap  labor  is  unlimited,  and  when  George  F.  Baer, 
President  of  the  Reading  railroad,  said  before  the  Coal  Strike 
Commission,  that  the  excessive  supply  of  immigrant  labor  about 
the  mines  was  the  result  of  the  abnormally  high  wages  already 
accorded  and  that  the  excess  would  be  increased  if  wages  were 
again  advanced,  he  touched  upon  a  law  in  economics  which- 
labor  unions  will  be  helpless  to  check.  And  as  long  as  this; 
stream  of  cheap  labor  will  flow  into  our  country,  these  anthra- 
cite coal  fields  will  be  invaded,  for  labor  in  and  around  the 
mines,  with  the  present  rate  of  wages,  will  be  a  lure  to  the 
unskilled  immigrants  from  Southern  Europe. 

343 


344  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

The  result  of  this  influx  is  three-fold,  (a)  The  better  class 
of  labor  is  pushed  up  and  out  by  the  cheaper  grade,  (6)  our 
society  feels  the  effect  of  intensive  evolution,  and  (c)  undesira- 
ble elements  enter  into  our  social  group.  The  English-speak- 
ing element  of  our  population  feels  the  pressure  from  beneath 
and  those  who  do  not  leave  the  coal  fields  for  the  cities  soon 
find  it  necessary  to  abstain  from  marriage  in  order  to  maintain 
the  change  due  to  a  rising  standard  of  living.  Hence  our 
towns  and  villages  are  being  depleted  of  the  better  class  of 
citizens,  and  many  of  those  who  still  remain  prefer  ease  and 
amusement  to  struggle  and  responsibility.  These  are  ambitious 
to  rise  in  their  social  status,  but  they  are  not  willing  to  pay  the 
price  their  fathers  did  in  hard  work  and  self-denial,  and  hence 
they  sacrifice  quantity  for  .quality.  All  our  population  also 
feels  the  effect  of  an  intensive  evolution.  Lilienfeld  says  that 
a  head  with  1,000,000  nervous  cells  will  function  less  inten- 
sively than  one  with  2,000,000.  The  same  is  true  of  an  area 
that  is  sparsely  populated  and  one  that  is  crowded  to  the  limit 
of  its  means  of  subsistence.  A  population  of  three  quarters  of 
a  million,  subsisting  on  the  production  of  these  collieries,  means 
a  stronger  and  more  intense  life  than  was  known  in  these  coal 
fields  a  decade  or  two  ago.  The  influence  is  felt  in  every 
sphere  of  life.  Business  is  more  competitive,  individuals  con- 
flict more  frequently  in  the  mines  and  in  commerce,  the  public 
interests  demand  closer  attention  and  the  members  of  society 
are  more  precisely  differentiated  into  groups  arranged  in  a 
hierarchical  order.  Rights  and  duties  are  more  precisely 
defined,  police  regulations  and  organization  must  be  of  a  higher 
type  in  order  to  force  the  recalcitrant  elements  to  do  their  duty 
and  obey  the  laws.  Private  property  is  not  so  secure  and  there 
are  demands  for  greater  vigilance  on  the  part  of  constituted 
authority  to  preserve  it,  while  the  rights  of  citizens  are  not  so 
religiously  respected.  Those  who  have  watched  the  growth  of 
our  population  have  observed  these  changes,  which  work  for 
degeneracy  in  our  communities  and  are  coincident  with  the 
increase  in  population.  But  not  only  do  we  suffer  from  inten- 
sive evolution,  the  character  of  the  elements   added  to  our 


CONCLUSION   OF   THE    WHOLE   MATTER.  345 

population  has  also  much  to  do  with  our  present  conditions. 
While  we  readily  confess  that  the  Sclav  contingent  of  strong 
men,  in  the  prime  of  life,  has  greatly  facilitated  the  develop- 
ment of  our  industry,  we  also  feel  that  these  communities  need 
something  more  than  material  development.  We  need  men 
and  women  who  harmonize  with  national  ideals  and  character, 
which  is  of  greater  importance  than  pecuniary  gain.  The 
thousands  of  immigrants  added  to  our  population  have  lowered 
our  standard  of  living,  have  bred  discontent,  and  have  brought 
elements  that  are  utterly  un-American  in  ideas  and  aspirations 
into  our  communities.  These,  by  their  adherence  to  their  lan-j 
guage  and  customs,  remain  uuassimilated  after  years  of  resi-| 
dence  in  the  United  States.  This  works  disintegration  in  our 
industrial  and  social  life  and,  unless  counteracting  forces  are 
set  in  motion,  will  result  in  a  lower  type  of  manhood  and 
womanhood  in  these  communities. 

In  the  sphere  of  the  home,  among  the  majority  of  mine  em- 
ployees, there  is  much  to  be  desired.  The  great  need  is  better 
mothers.  Mothers  who  know  how  to  care  for  their  children, 
prepare  food  for  them,  and  understand  the  importance  of 
cleanliness,  fresh  air,  pure  water  and  sunshine.  Wives  who 
know  how  to  cook  and  the  relative  value  of  foods,  how  to 
mend  and  darn  and  the  importance  of  fresh  air  and  cleanliness 
in  the  home,  how  to  care  for  the  sick  and  the  use  of  disinfec- 
tants, how  to  direct  the  affairs  of  the  home  and  watch  over  the 
work  necessary  for  the  comfort  of  their  families.  These  are 
the  qualities  needed  in  the  wives  and  mothers  of  our  mining 
population,  and  the  reason  why  so  much  misery  exists  in  our 
homes  is  because  the  mothers  and  wives  are  ignorant  of  the 
domestic  arts.  It  cannot  be  otherwise  as  long  as  girls  go  to 
factories  and  stores,  and  are,  as  their  mothers,  ignorant  of  the 
work  of  ordering  a  home  and  the  arts  of  home  consumption. 
The  remedy  will  not  come  until  these  arts  are  taught  in  the 
public  schools,  and  our  girls,  instead  of  being  loaded  down  with 
studies  they  forget  soon  after  graduation,  are  trained  in  plain 
cooking,  dress-making,  washing  and  ironing,  etc.,  which  are 
daily  in  demand. 


346  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

This  is  the  more  important  for  the  wages  upon  which  the 
family  must  live  are  often  inadequate  to  meet  ordinary  de- 
mands. It  was  shown  by  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Massa- 
chusetts that  it  takes  a  family  of  five  persons  $754  a  year  to 
live  on.  The  average  number  in  the  family  of  mine  em- 
ployees is  between  five  and  six,  and  the  wages  of  contract 
miners,  who  form  only  twenty -five  per  cent,  of  all  persons 
A  employed  in  and  around  the  mines,  is  about  $600  a  year; 
/  while  adults  in  other  classes  of  mine  workers,  who  form 
\  over  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  labor  force,  do  not  receive  an 
\  average  annual  wage  of  $450.  On  this  income,  it  requires  the 
greatest  possible  skill  to  provide  for  the  bodily  necessaries  of 
the  household,  and  leave  nothing  for  the  "spiritual  affairs  of 
life — those  affairs  that  are  above  and  beyond  the  mere  contest 
for  subsistence."  This  small  income  drives  many  of  our  people 
to  live  in  cheap  and  rickety  houses,  where  the  sense  of  shame 
and  decency  is  blunted  in  early  youth,  and  where  men  cannot 
find  such  home  comforts  as  will  counteract  the  attractions  of 
the  saloon.  The  hundreds  of  company  houses,  renting  for  from 
$1.75  to  $3  per  month,  are  not  fit  habitations  for  men ;  these 
should  be  torn  down,  for  self-respect  and  decorum  cannot  be 
cultivated  in  families  that  live  in  them. 

Another  evil  incident  to  a  small  income  is  the  contracting  of 
hopeless  debt.  This  has  a  positive  deteriorating  influence 
upon  the  family.  It  lessens  the  moral  tone  of  the  members, 
makes  the  parents  increasingly  careless  of  obligations  incurred, 
and  affects  the  community  in  creating  distrust  and  suspicion  of 
the  integrity  and  honesty  of  its  members.  Whenever  it  is 
necessary  for  a  family  to  incur  debt,  in  order  to  secure  the 
necessaries  of  life  for  its  members,  the  effect  is  detrimental  to 
the  welfare  of  the  home  and  deranges  social  relations.  Ideas 
govern  the  world,  and  when  children  are  raised  in  homes 
where  the  concepts  of  truth  and  honesty  are  perturbed  because 
of  economic  conditions,  they  become  disturbing  elements  in 
society.  Much  of  the  social  unrest  which  prevails  among  the 
working  classes  arises  from  the  idea  that  they  fall  into  debt  be- 
cause the  distribution  of  the  wealth  produced  is  not  equitable. 


I 

a 


CONCLUSION   OF   THE    WHOLE   MATTER.  347 

Whether  this  be  true  or  false,  the  effect  upon  society,  should 
the  idea  become  general  among  the  wage  earners,  must  be  to 
destroy  its  peace  and  introduce  a  disturbing  element  into  all 
the  spheres  of  human  life. 

In  all  the  homes  of  mine  employees,  of  all  nationalities,  is 
an  appalling  infant  mortality.  Hundreds  of  children  in  these 
towns  and  villages  die  every  year  of  preventable  causes. 
While  not  five  per  cent,  of  the  children  born  to  the  upper 
classes  dies  before  they  reach  five  years  of  age,  the  death-rate 
here  is  about  35  per  cent.  This  is  a  frightful  infant  mortality 
and  should  be  the  concern  of  the  philanthropist  and  economist. 
The  causes  of  this  waste  will  be  found  in  the  facts  that  the 
social  and  economic  conditions  of  these  peoples  are  low ;  that 
their  knowledge  of  the  care  and  treatment  of  infants  is  small ; 
and  that  the  vice,  immorality  and  debauchery  of  unnatural 
parents  enfeeble  the  constitutions  of  their  children.  Life  in 
all  its  stages  is  a  struggle  and  the  law  which  a  large  percentage 
of  our  people  seems  to  be  wholly  oblivious  of  is,  that  the 
physical  constitutions  of  men  and  women  depend  ultimately 
upon  morality.  The  diseases  which  men  contract  because  of 
immoral  habits  and  practices  account,  by  the  laws  of  heredity, 
for  the  weak  constitutions  transmitted  to  descendants,  who 
thus  become  a  prey  to  adverse  influences  and  succumb.  What- 
ever knowledge  is  necessary  to  check  this  frightful  waste  ought 
to  be  furnished  from  considerations  of  economy  and  morality, 
for  the  growth  of  a  healthy,  intelligent  and  vigorous  laboring 
population  is  the  concern  of  society  and  the  only  basis  upon 
which  civilization  will  thrive.  A  decline  in  physical  power 
connotes  a  decline  in  moral  force,  and  a  decline  in  morals  means 
the  decline  of  the  nation.  Ultimately  the  student  of  society 
comes  face  to  face  with  the  fact  that  the  higher  welfare  of  the 
nation  depends  upon  the  welfare  of  the  working  classes. 

And  can  this  welfare  of  the  working  classes  be  promoted  in 
any  more  effectual  way  than  by  an  intelligent  system  of  educa- 
tion, whereby  the  best  use  is  made  of  the  predilections  of 
youths  ?  A  recent  examination  was  conducted  by  one  of  our 
Factory  Inspectors  of  the  2,000  children  employed  in  the  fac- 


348  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

tories  of  Lackawanna  county,  whether  they  could  read  and 
write  the  English  language  intelligently,  as  if  that  were  a  suffi- 
cient equipment  for  the  conflict  of  life.  Statistics  show  that  50 
per  cent,  of  the  children  of  the  working  classes  is  out  of  school 
before  they  are  twelve  years  of  age.  The  cause  for  this  is  not 
so  much  economic  as  it  is  a  conscious  or  unconscious  protest  of 
the  common  sense  of  the  masses  against  the  system  of  education 
which  now  prevails  for  boys  and  girls  in  their  teens.  Gibbon 
says  that  the  modest  obedience  of  the  legions  of  the  Roman 
army,  during  the  two  first  centuries  of  the  Imperial  history,  was 
due  to  the  men  who  were  instructed  "  in  the  advantages  of  laws 
and  letters,  and  who  had  risen  by  equal  steps  through  the  regular 
succession  of  civil  and  military  honors."  Rome  adapted  its 
system  of  education  to  the  exigencies  of  the  times.  Can  we  do 
anything  better  ?  We  live  in  the  industrial  age,  and  over  95 
per  cent,  of  all  our  boys  have  to  eke  out  a  subsistence  by 
manual  labor.  Does  not  common  sense  dictate  that  these 
youths  should  be  trained  to  take  their  place  in  the  industrial 
army  in  a  more  efficient  manner  than  is  now  the  custom  ?  The 
boys,  who  have  a  smattering  of  a  dozen  different  sciences  and 
have  their  certificates  of  graduation  hung  up  in  the  homes,  are 
very  poor  material  for  manual  labor  in  these  mines.  Send 
them  into  the  city  and  what  good  are  they  there  ?  They  soon 
sink  into  obscurity  and  darkness  and,  unobserved  by  any  who 
takes  an  interest  in  them,  they  are  very  likely  to  neglect  them- 
selves and  in  time  abandon  themselves  to  every  sort  of  profli- 
gacy and  vice.  We  know  that  the  dream  of  certain  socialists 
of  a  society  where  all  inequalities  are  leveled,  is  contrary  to  both 
nature  and  reason.  Differences  of  native  capacity  will  always 
exist  and  there  will  always  be  great  men  whose  social  worth  is 
inestimable.  But  while  all  intelligent  men  accept  a  social  state 
in  which  differences  among  men  is  normal,  they  will,  with 
equal  discernment,  perceive  that  the  peace  and  welfare  of  society 
rest  upon  giving  every  youth  equality  of  opportunity  to  develop 
his  native  powers  under  competent  masters  in  the  industrial 
world.  The  councils  of  Wilkesbarre  have  become  conscious 
of  the  deterioration  of  the  youth  of  that  city  and  have  instituted 


CONCLUSION   OF   THE    WHOLE   MATTER.  349 

the  "curfew  bell."  We  need  something  more  than  curfew 
bells  to  check  the  tendency  of  precocious  youths  to  vice  and 
crime.  We  need  industrial  and  technical  schools  wherein  the 
nimble  hands  and  fingers  may  be  properly  trained  and  the  sur- 
plus energy  of  youth  turned  to  profitable  channels. 

In  Society  and  in  the   Wiyrks. 

There  are  many  pathological  conditions  also  found  in  our 
social  and  economic  relations.  We  are  now  on  a  wave  of 
prosperity  and  all  mine  employees  are  elated  with  the  increase 
of  wages  granted  them.  Business  is  booming,  the  collieries  are 
working  regularly,*  the  volume  of  consumable  goods  devoured 
by  our  people  was  never  greater,  but  no  one  seems  to  ask  what 
is  the  character  and  utility  of  the  articles  consumed.  What 
will  increased  wages  benefit  men  if  they  consume  them  in  goods 
of  neutral  or  negative  utility?  Saloons,  tobacco  stores,  cock- 
fighting  matches,  vicious  shows,  and  gambling  devices  flourish, 
while  good  books,  refined  amusements,  culture  and  religion  are 
very  meagerly  patronized.  The  way  people  spend  their  money 
is  a  true  indication  of  the  strength  or  weakness  of  society.  In- 
telligent men  imagine  that  everything  is  prospering  because  the 
volume  of  business  is  great,  and  perceive  not  that  the  volume 
of  business  may  indicate  the  presence  of  anti-social  and  anti- 
patriotic  forces  which  work  for  the  destruction  of  society. 
Business  that  destroys  the  physical  and  moral  fiber  of  men  is  a 
sure  sign  of  deterioration. 

During  the  recent  strike  in  these  coal  fields.  Lieutenant  J. 
P.  Eyan,  of  the  United  States'  Navy,  was  sent  here  to  recruit 
sailors  for  the  navy,  and  then  ordered  to  leave  the  regions  for 
the  following  reason  :  "  One  curious  outcome  of  the  recruiting 
was  that  very  few  of  the  strikers  who  applied  for  enlistment 
could  pass  the  physical  requirements.  Lieutenant  Ryan  found 
that  nearly  all  of  those  who  were  willing  to  go  into  the  navy 
are  under  size,  weak-chested  and  round-shouldered,  and  phys- 

*  After  a  year  of  unparalled  prosperity  since  the  strike  of  1902,  inter- 
mittent labor  is  again  the  lot  of  anthracite  employees.  The  collieries  do  not 
now  average  more  than  two  thirds  time. 


350  ANTHEACITE   COAL   CX)MMUNITIES. 

ically  undesirable  in  nearly  every  way.  This  is  attributed  to 
going  to  work  at  an  early  age,  lack  of  nourishment  and  hard 
labor  in  unsanitary  surroundings/'  Persons  familiar  with  our 
regions  know  also  that  the  intemperate  and  vicious  habits 
which  prevail  among  the  lower  stratum  of  our  society  account 
for  much  of  this  result. 

Take  the  evil  of  alcoholism  in  our  regions  and  it  destroys 
both  the  body  and  the  souls  of  men.  Dr.  G.  Sims  Woodhead 
lately  said  in  discussing  the  pathology  of  alcoholism,  that  alco- 
hol induces  cirrhotic  changes  in  kidney  and  liver,  that  pneu- 
monia in  alcoholic  patients  assumes  the  most  virulent  form  and 
often  terminates  fatally,  that  it  interferes  with  nutrition,  and 
predisposes  the  indulger  to  infection.  Colonel  H.  M.  Boies, 
writing  from  personal  observation  and  from  the  record  of  crime 
in  the  courts  of  justice  in  these  coal  fields,  said  that  intemper- 
ance is  the  cause  of  75  per  cent.*  of  the  crimes  committed.  And 
from  the  coal  operators  come  the  complaints  that  the  number 
of  days  lost  by  habitual  drunkards  in  the  collieries  amounts  to 
about  8  per  cent,  of  the  time  worked  by  the  breakers.  This 
evil  causes  most  serious  disturbances  in  the  social,  judicial  and 
economic  spheres  of  our  society  and  is  one  of  the  most  serious 
dangers  which  confront  our  people.  It  unsettles  our  economic 
life,  destroys  the  peace  of  families,  deprives  children  of  their 
natural  rights,  brutalizes  and  debauches  the  moral  life,  and 
leaves  us  a  heritage  of  pauperism  and  crime,  diseases  and  in- 
sanity, degeneracy  and  suicide.  Against  this  great  evil  both 
the  economic  and  moral  interests  of  our  communities  should 
protest  and  wage  war.  Col.  Carroll  D.  Wright  has  said : 
"  Drunkenness  and  intemperance  are  not  the  necessary  accom- 
panying evils  of  the  factory  system,  and  never  have  been ;  but 
wherever  corporations  furnish  unhealthy  home  surroundings, 
there  the  evils  of  intemperance  will  be  more  or  less  felt  in  all 
the  directions  in  which  the  results  of  ruin  find  their  wonderful 
ramifications.''  The  evil  has  ever  been  great  among  mine  em- 
ployees, and  possibly  the  nature  of  the  industry  and  the  condi- 
tions of  domestic  life  have  much  to  do  with  the  curse. 

*  This  is  a  higher  percentage  than  that  we  found  in  typical  mining  towns. 
See  note  on  page  286. 


CONCLUSION   OF   THE   WHOLE   MATTER.  351 

Closely  associated  with  alcoholism  is  crime.  The  estimated 
number  of  crimes  committed  in  the  country  in  1900  was  one 
for  every  22.13  of  the  population.  This  is  about  the  propor- 
tion we  found  in  our  area.  These  anti-social  elements  are  a 
burden  to  society  that  handicaps  its  progress  and  disturbs  its 
peace.  The  number  of  criminals  increases  and  possibly  will 
continue  to  do  so  until  a  scientific  and  curative  form  of  treat- 
ment is  applied.  From  the  days  of  Mabillon,  the  Abbe  of  St. 
Germain,  to  those  of  Z.  R.  Brockway,  the  leaders  in  penology, 
have  advocated  "  reformation "  as  the  motto  in  the  treatment 
of  criminals.  Yet,  at  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury, we  hand  over  our  transgressors,  regardless  of  age  and 
antecedents,  to  the  care  of  politicians  in  charge  of  county  jails, 
notwithstanding  the  protests  of  specialists  such  as  Eugene  Smith, 
Drahms,  Boies,  etc.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  criminals  multiply 
and  crime  increases  ?  The  last  mentioned  authority  says  that 
75  per  cent,  of  all  crimes  committed  and  at  least  50  per  cent,  of 
all  sufferings  endured  on  account  of  poverty  in  this  country 
and  among  civilized  nations  are  due  directly  or  indirectly  to 
alcoholism.  Other  causes  are  inefficiency  or  absence  of  parental 
discipline  in  early  life,  lack  of  self-control,  idleness  and  disin- 
clination for  steady  and  methodical  work,  and  moral  depravity. 
These  sources,  whence  come  our  criminals,  cannot  be  cleansed 
or  removed  until  the  positive  deductions  of  the  science  of  pen- 
ology are  made  the  basis  of  intelligent  action.  When  that  is 
done  the  causes  will  be  eliminated  and  the  criminal  type,  which 
closely  resembles  the  barbarous  and  savage  type,  will  be  largely 
removed. 

Our  pauperism  is  also  closely  related  to  alcoholism.  If  we 
consider  the  economic  and  social  conditions  of  these  coal  fields 
there  is  no  reason  why  the  large  sums  spent  in  poor  relief 
should  be  as  great.  In  the  treatment  of  the  pauper  we  are  far 
from  following  scientific  methods  and  principles.  Our  volun- 
teer charitable  organizations  do  not  always  bear  in  mind  that 
their  aim  should  be  to  redeem  and  cure  and  not  help  inconsid- 
erately and  continuously.  The  men  in  charge  of  poor  relief 
have  no  idea  that  they  are  dealing  with  a  disease  which  needs 


352  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

to  be  stamped  out.  Their  reports  read  as  those  of  organiza- 
tions which  exist  for  purposes  of  positive  utility  and  each  year 
shows  a  larger  volume  of  business.  When  public-spirited  citi- 
zens have  taken  this  question  in  hand  and  acted  in  the  interest 
of  the  public,  the  list  of  paupers  has  been  cut  down  one  half 
without  working  any  injury  to  the  worthy  dependents. 

We  cannot  regard  otherwise  than  as  abnormal  the  craving 
for  excitement  and  the  tendency  towards  extravagance  observed 
among  our  working  classes.  No  one  will  object  to  a  healthful 
rise  in  the  standard  of  living,  but  when  taste  and  culture  do 
not  keep  pace  with  the  increased  wants  felt  by  the  wives  and 
daughters  of  wage  earners,  their  taste  becomes  grotesque,  their 
costume  preposterous  and  their  homes  repulsive  with  gaudy 
tapestry  and  cheap  upholstery  that  are  fatal  to  simplicity  and 
virtue.  Among  the  wage  earners  there  is  an  unnatural  rivalry 
for  display.  Their  idea  of  social  preeminence  is  to  make  an 
ostentatious  show  in  clothing  and  furnishing,  and  waving  over 
empty  heads  and  vain  hearts  are  seen  costly  plumes,  ribbons, 
rosettes  and  silks  which  represent  a  depraved  taste  and  false 
ideals  of  life.  The  Sclavs,  many  of  whom  are  graceful  and 
natural  in  their  bright  colored  scarf  and  simple  gown,  are  now 
mimicing  their  Anglo-Saxon  sisters  and,  with  flamboyant  hats, 
silk  waists  and  fashionable  gowns,  they  present  a  more  ludicrous 
picture  than  ever  entered  the  mind  of  Thackeray  or  was  cari- 
catured by  Punch.  If  coincident  with  the  desire  for  a  greater 
share  of  the  wealth  produced,  there  was  a  desire  for  a  higher 
intellectual  life  and  a  greater  realization  of  the  moral  and  spir- 
itual affairs  of  life,  one  would  look  upon  the  advance  of  the 
wage-earning  classes  with  greater  hope. 

Closely  related  to  this  craving  for  material  enjoyment  lies 
the  growing  prejudice  against  the  capitalistic  class  and  jealousy 
of  the  wealth  it  possesses.  The  grossest  forms  in  which  these 
ideas  are  found  are  certain  types  of  socialism  ;  while  many  who 
are  not  fascinated  by  socialistic  dreams  of  "  paradise  regained," 
are  still  suspicious  of  the  share  of  the  productive  wealth  which 
goes  to  capital.  Adam  Smith  said,  "  It  is  the  interest  of  every 
man  to  live  as  much  at  his  ease  as  he  can,"  but  the  working 


CONCLUSION   OF   THE    WHOLE  MATTEB.  353 

classes,  if  they  fall  into  the  delusion  that  the  capitalistic  system 
alone  stands  in  the  way  of  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of  ease 
and  plenty,  will  be  rudely  awakened  from  their  delusion. 
The  work  of  getting  food  has  always  been  difficult  and  never 
in  the  history  of  the  world  has  there  been  such  a  supply  of 
useful  commodities  for  the  use  of  man  as  under  the  capitalistic 
system,  while  those  countries  where  vast  aggregations  of  capi- 
tal rest  in  the  hands  of  few  men  lead  the  world  in  commercial 
and  industrial  efficiency.  Natural  endowments  are  unequal 
and  the  returns  each  man  receives  for  his  labor  under  our  sys- 
tem represents,  in  a  rough  way,  the  social  worth  of  the  parties. 
Native  capacity  inexorably  fixes  the  limit  of  every  man's 
achievements  and  never  will  society  esteem  the  services  of  the 
ashman  equal  to  those  of  a  railroad  president.  The  foolish 
and  extravagant  invention  of  parasitic  millionaires  who  furnish 
dinners  on  horseback  at  the  rate  of  $200  a  plate  as  well  as 
the  pinching  poverty  of  laborers  whose  annual  income,  in  a 
country  where  revenue  for  monopolies  prevails,  does  not  double 
that  amount,  may  prepare  the  way  for  socialism  ;  but  the  old 
adage  is  still  true,  "  two  blacks  will  not  make  a  white,"  and 
the  tendency  of  the  working  classes  to  wage  war  upon  the 
capitalistic  class  bodes  no  good  for  the  peace  of  society.  The 
antagonism  between  capital  and  labor  is  daily  increasing  and 
the  mutual  confidence  and  sentiment  of  solidarity,  which  are 
the  sine  qua  non  of  prosperity,  are  weak.  The  gulf  between 
capital  and  labor  becomes  daily  wider,  but  it  cannot  be  spanned 
by  either  communism  or  socialism.  The  demand  of  the 
workingman  for  a  wage  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  meet  his 
social  and  spiritual  wants  beyond  the  necessity  of  keeping 
body  and  soul  together  is  just,  but  we  believe  that  other  ethical 
and  economical  adjustments  can  be  found  to  meet  this  demand 
without  launching  on  the  uncertain  sea  of  socialistic  experiments. 
More  and  more  does  modern  society  feel  that  ethics  and 
economics  must  go  hand  in  hand.  Capital  and  labor  are  mutu- 
ally dependent  the  one  on  the  other,  and  when  each  consults 
the  other  and  reciprocal  interests  prevail,  when  a  moral  stand- 
ard actuates  both  parties  and  the  egoistic  principle  is  subordi- 
24 


354  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

nated  to  the  altruistic,  then  will  the  best  prosperity  be  attained 
and  sustained  in  our  communities. 

The  last  and  most  important  pathological  feature  we  need 
mention  is  the  moral  decadence  that  is  so  apparent  on  all  sides. 
Wayne  MacVeagh  said  :  "  For  it  may  well  happen  that  the  safety 
of  our  institutions  requires  that  the  masses  of  our  people  shall 
continue  to  cherish  the  ethical  ideals  of  Christianity,  and  that 
whoever  lessens  respect  for  them  inevitably  weakens  the  rever- 
ence of  the  majority  of  voters  for  the  principles  upon  which  our 
government  is  founded."  The  trouble  is  that  there  is  a 
weakening  of  reverence  and  a  growing  disregard  for  sacred 
things  on  all  sides,  that  threaten  the  very  foundations  upon 
which  society  has  thus  far  rested.  Charles  F.  Dole  touches  the 
disease  when  he  says,  that  "  There  is  seething  unrest ;  there  is 
doubt  of  the  sanctions  of  religion ;  there  is  a  sense  of  coming 
change ;  there  is  suspicion  that  premises  and  foundations  once 
unquestioned  are  now  perhaps  undermined ;  there  is  challenge 
of  existing  institutions  —  social,  economical,  ecclesiastical.  Are 
the  present  institutions  such  as  the  world  will  continue  to  find 
use  for  ?  There  is  dread  mingled  with  hope.  What  possible 
revolutions  may  not  impend,  setting  the  old  order  aside."  And 
while  this  unrest  and  distrust  are  in  the  air  the  masses  will  not 
continue  to  cherish  the  ethical  ideals  of  Christianity.  Cardinal 
Gibbons  speaking  last  February  said  :  '^  There  is  a  barbarism 
more  dense  than  the  barbarism  of  the  savage.  ...  I  speak  of 
the  barbarism  which  eliminates  God  and  an  overruling  Provi- 
dence from  the  moral  government  ,of  the  world,  which  takes  no 
account  of  a  life  to  come  and  of  the  responsibility  attached  to  it.'' 

This  decay  of  religion  that  is  observed  and  commented  upon 
by  our  religious  and  secular  leaders  is  ominous.  Are  the 
lessons  taught  by  pagan  Rome,  by  the  reigns  of  Louis  XIV. 
and  Louis  XV.,  by  the  reigns  of  Charles  I.  and  Charles  II.,  and 
by  subsequent  periods,  when  material  prosperity  declined  as 
the  practical  resultant  of  immorality  and  profligacy,  in  vain  ? 
Or  are  the  melancholic  predictions  of  Frietschke  and  his  class 
to  be  realized,  that  the  vast  majority  of  mankind  are  only  capa- 
ble of  rising  so  high  and,  then  falling,  they  bury  the  achieve- 


CONCLUSION   OF   THE   WHOLE    MATTER.  355 

ments  of  ages  in  one  great  catastrophe,  from  which  man  must 
again  painfully  and  slowly  arise  only,  in  time,  to  repeat  the 
calamity.  If  society  is  to  be  saved  the  regenerating  power  can 
only  come  from  the  moral-spiritual  nature  of  man,  and  every 
force,  either  in  society  or  industry,  which  grinds  the  altars  of 
the  nation  will  ultimately  grind  to  powder  the  foundation^  upon 
which  society  rests. 

In  the  Boroughs  and  in  the  Counties. 

Every  part  of  our  State  suffers  from  the  corruption  which 
characterizes  the  actions  of  politicians.  One  of  the  most 
humiliating  spectacles  was  presented  to  the  people  of  the  State 
during  the  Quay-Elkin  fight  of  1902.  Men  were  shipped  like 
cattle  from  the  anthracite  coal  fields  to  Harrisburg  to  shout 
and  fight  for  their  patron.  Never  were  the  contests  between 
rival  candidates  for  the  imperial  crown  in  the  decadent  days 
of  ancient  Rome  more  venal,  corrupt  and  barbarous.  The 
state  administration  used  all  the  patronage  at  its  disposal  to 
aid  its  favorite,  and  those  who  would  not  obey  were  summarily 
dismissed.  It  is  hardly  credible  that  such  a  spectacle  could 
take  place  in  a  self-respecting  community,  but  in  every  part  of 
industrial  Pennsylvania  the  same  corrupting  and  deadly  methods 
are  pursued  by  professional  politicians.  There  is  no  sphere  of 
public  life  exempt  from  their  mischievous  touch  and  no  weapon 
is  too  vile  for  use  to  accomplish  their  end.  The  idea  is  daily 
growing  among  the  working  classes  that  the  law  and  law- 
makers is  only  a  question  of  money,  and  that  the  right  to  make 
laws  is  to  be  purchased  as  one  does  any  other  commodity. 
Daily  it  is  becoming  more  apparent  that  all  the  machinery  of 
law  is  at  the  service  of  those  who  possess  wealth  enough  to 
control  it.  The  sentiment  that  the  question  of  law  is  a  ques- 
tion of  morals  is  antiquated.  Capitalists  have  openly  and  cyni- 
cally taught  the  masses  that  it  is  a  question  of  hard  cash  and 
that  the  legislature  can  be  run  on  schedule  time  according  to 
the  pleasure  of  the  men  who  have  the  "  barrels."  It  is  a 
mystery  how  intelligent  men  can  condone  such  a  state  of  affairs 


356  ANTHRACITE   COAL,   COMMUNITIES. 

'  and  how  men,  prominent  in  church  affairs,  can  warp  their  con- 
/  sciences  so  as  to  connive  at  such  political  corruption. 

The  deadly  blight  of  politics  falls  on  all  our  public  institu- 
tions. Our  schools  are  wholly  in  their  hands,  and  teachers 
are  appointed  because  of  influence  and  not  efficiency,  janitors 
must  have  a  "pull"  or  else  be  dismissed,  and  school  supplies 
must  be  bought  at  the  hands  of  men  who  can  hardly  read  or 
write  the  English  language.  Almost  all  the  public  officers  of 
cities,  boroughs  and  townships  are  politicians  and  belong  to 
the  machine.  They  secure  their  elections  by  ways  in  vogue 
among  men  who  conduct  campaigns  on  a  larger  scale,  and, 
when  in  office,  they  are  anxious  to  get  all  "that's  in  it." 
Egoism  is  the  motive  power  of  their  lives  and  altruistic  motives 
for  the  public  good  are  far  removed  from  them.  Charities  and 
sanitation  are  in  their  control;  the  poor  tax  they  distribute 
recklessly  and  just  as  recklessly  leave  nuisances  unabated. 
Col.  Boise,  in  speaking  of  the  provision  for  the  indigent  of 
Lackawanna  county,  says  :  "  Five  institutions  with  five  farms, 
five  superintendents  all  with  their  hired  staffs,  are  all  employed 
to  accomplish  what  could  be  done  in  a  much  more  satisfactory 
manner  in  one  institution,  on  a  single  farm,  with  one  superin- 
tendent." Politicians  never  reduce  expenses  and  help;  they 
increase  both,  for  that  enhances  their  chance  of  continued 
official  life.  That  is  the  reason  why  the  cost  of  governing  our 
-communities  has  increased  much  faster  than  our  population, 
^hile  the  burden  of  taxation  which  falls  upon  the  thrifty  and 
industrious  wage  earner  has  steadily  grown  heavier.  Even 
the  judiciary  is  not  free  from  the  rampage,  scramble  and 
smudge  which  characterize  our  political  contests. 

The  influence  of  such  a  disintegrating  force  is  appalling  upon 
the  political  ethics  of  the  people.  One  of  the  most  direct  re- 
sults is  the  organization  of  political  clubs  along  racial  and 
religious  lines  which  excites  prejudice  and  invites  corruption. 
Adam  Smith  said :  '^The  good  temper  and  moderation  of  con- 
tending factions  seem  to  be  the  most  essential  circumstance 
in  the  public  morals  of  a  free  people,"  but  the  political  corrup- 
tion which  characterizes  our  communities  inflames  passion,  in- 


'M 


'/ 


CONCLUSION   OP   THE   WHOLE   MATTER.  357 

tensifies  hatred  and,  if  it  long  continues,  will  precipitate  bloody- 
conflicts  between  rival  factions  in  quest  of  the  spoils  of  office. 
Unscrupulous  schemers,  in  all  our  towns,  organize  clubs  of 
their  own  people,  and,  posing  before  the  party  leaders  as  able 
to  control  a  large  number  of  votes,  put  them  up  for  auction  or 
barter  them  for  some  personal  favor.  All  this  is  un-American 
and  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  our  institutions. 

Another  result  equally  apparent  is  the  decay  of  public  mor- 
als. Men  that  are  honest  and  truthful  in  social  and  business 
affairs  are  dishonest  and  unreliable  in  political  affairs.  In 
private  affairs  they  give  good  service  for  all  remuneration  and 
would  never  think  of  taking  a  dollar  that  was  not  their  own, 
but  in  the  service  of  the  public  they  skimp  work,  make  exces- 
sive charges,  and  hesitate  not  to  take  from  the  public  treasury 
money  for  which  they  gave  no  service.  The  effect  upon  the 
character  of  the  politicians  themselves  is  ruinous.  They  live 
in  an  atmosphere  of  cunning,  intrigue,  venality  and  prevarica- 
tion, and  its  demoralizing  influence,  in  time,  tells  upon  all  their 
activities.  They  introduce  the  cunning  and  craftiness  which 
are  practiced  in  politics  into  business,  their  intimate  friends 
are  those  whom  they  can  use,  the  sacred  ties  of  family  life  are 
sacrificed  on  the  altar  of  political  ambition,  personal  character 
is  abandoned,  and  their  church  connections  are  only  maintained 
to  throw  a  mask  of  decency  over  their  perfidy  before  the  eyes 
of  the  public.  It  is  surprising  that  keen  business  men,  who 
accumulate  wealth  and  hope  to  transmit  it  intact  to  their  de- 
scendants, do  not  see  that  this  destruction  and  denial  of  ethical 
ideals  in  a  democratic  form  of  government  tends  to  destroy  all 
that  is  sacred  to  a  free  people.  The  common  people  have  al- 
ways followed  the  lead  of  the  rich,  and  to-day  the  masses  in 
our  communities  are  honeycombed  with  false  and  fatal  ethical 
principles  in  politics,  which  they  have  taken  from  the  mighty. 

This  kind  of  politics  has  brought  to  us  an  heritage  of  mis- 
appropriation, incapacity  and  extravagance  in  municipal  and 
county  affairs  that  is  ominous  to  the  public  weal.  Every  piece 
of  work  costs  from  25  to  50  per  cent,  more  than  a  private 
party  could  get  it  for.      Public-spirited  citizens,  who  try  to 


358  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

check  the  extravagance,  are  confronted  by  the  machine  which 
shields  its  minions  and  defeats  the  ends  of  justice.  Men 
who  are  known  to  have  misappropriated  public  funds,  are 
exonerated  if  only  they  replace  the  money  and  be  more  care- 
ful —  to  cover  their  tracks  —  in  future.  Men  are  paid  high 
wages  in  county  offices  whose  only  qualification  is  that  they 
can  command  votes  and,  when  necessary,  lay  their  hands 
to  work  that  no  honest  citizen  would  touch.  And  intelligent 
people,  who  know  all  this,  are  now  talking  of  enlarging  the 
sphere  of  operation  of  these  political  freebooters  by  municipal 
ownership  of  public  utilities ;  and  even  our  legislators,  ever 
sensitive  to  public  clamor,  are  introducing  laws  which  pave 
the  way  to  socialistic  experiments,  which,  they  know  full  well, 
must  result  in  deeper  corruption  and  greater  extravagance  than 
exist  at  present.  Are  these  men  blind  to  the  fact  that  State 
interference  with  the  enterprises  of  its  citizens  will  inevitably 
destroy  the  sentiments  of  initiative  and  responsibility  which 
have  been  the  crowning  glory  of  our  Commonwealth  ?  The 
few  experiments  in  municipal  ownership  of  public  utilities  in 
our  territory  have  increased  the  burden  of  taxation,  intensified 
factional  feeling,  and  led  to  expensive  litigation  and  scandalous 
extravagance.  But  these  evils  are  not  the  worse,  for  as  M.  Le 
Bon  has  shown,  the  psychological  effect  of  this  drift  of  public 
sentiment  is  far  more  injurious  to  society  than  its  increased 
cost.  It  degenerates  the  individual  will  and  energy,  and  ends 
"  in  a  kind  of  bureaucratic  servitude  or  parliamentary  Csesarism 
which  will  at  once  enervate  and  demoralize  an  impoverished 
country." 

The  Way  to  Health. 

Through  Harrishurg, 
Kent  says  that  municipal  law  is  a  rule  of  civil  conduct  pre- 
scribed by  the  State  which  must  be  reasonable  and  conformable 
to  the  will  of  the  people  as  expressed  in  the  Constitution, 
which  is  the  supreme  power  in  the  land.  The  civil  code  of 
all  countries  embraces  the  laws  which  reflect  the  social  limita- 
tions and  conditions  which  society  has  gradually  built  up  in 


CONCLUSION   OF   THE   WHOLE   MATTER.  359 

order  to  cause  its  members  to  observe  propriety  in  all  their  acts. 
The  laws  do  not  always  respond  to  the  demands  of  right  and 
justice,  but,  taking  the  evolution  of  social  justice  as  a  whole, 
we  find  that  they  represent  honor,  justice  and  equity  which 
gradually  rise  above  the  instincts  of  brutes  and  the  caprices  of 
savages.  The  horde  fixed  the  relation  of  the  member  to  the 
group,  and,  when  by  custom  this  was  established,  the  mores  of 
the  people  were  formed,  which,  in  turn,  crystallized  into  laws. 
Hence  statutes  are  only  the  reflection  of  the  mores  of  society 
and  a  secondary  factor  in  the  judicial  life  of  a  community,  but 
the  sanction  they  receive  from  the  regularly  constituted  au- 
thority of  the  State  gives  them  considerable  influence  in  mold- 
ing the  life  of  the  people.  Thus  it  is  that  laws,  as  they  are 
beneficent  or  mischievous,  become  instruments  of  progress  or 
destruction  in  the  life  of  society. 

Laws,  when  they  are  beneficent,  promote  life  and  happiness. 
They  are  means  designed  to  eliminate  impropriety  and  mischief 
on  the  part  of  the  individual  who  works  injury  to  his  neighbor. 
So  that  all  the  machinery  of  government,  designed  to  benefit 
society,  reaches  its  aim  only  as  the  individual  is  corrected,  and 
where  all  the  individuals  of  a  group  are  in  equilibrium  with 
the  social  code,  they  are  a  law  unto  themselves.  But  as  Frede- 
rick Harrison  says,  "  The  devil  of  separate  interests  drives  man 
apart  from  man,"  and  the  coercive  power  of  the  State  is  evoked 
by  the  aggrieved  to  keep  within  bounds  the  devil  of  separate 
interest  which  commutes  the  welfare  of  the  masses  to  its  own 
purpose. 

The  trend  of  modern  legislation  is  to  curb  the  strong  in  the 
interests  of  the  masses.  The  aim  is  to  equalize  men  in  all  the 
social  spheres  by  coercion.  This  tendency  is  diametrically  op- 
posed to  the  results  achieved  by  the  free  play  of  social  forces 
under  the  lead  of  glorious  liberty.  Whatever  may  be  the  out- 
come of  this  spirit  of  the  age,  it  must  always  be  acknowledged 
that  the  policy  of  individual  initiative  and  responsibility 
formed  men  capable  of  achieving  great  actions,  of  laying  the 
foundations  of  great  empires,  and  in  no  quarter  of  the  world 
are  there  found  such  a  galaxy  of  noble  men  as  are  found  in 


360  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

countries  where  individual  will  and  energy  were  given  free 

play- 
All  students  of  social  science  acknowledge  that  individuality 

and  solidarity  are  the  two  poles  around  which  social  life  re- 
volves, but  they  differ  as  to  the  part  government  should  play 
in  the  adjusting  of  these  forces.  Every  Christian  believes 
that  we  are  members  one  of  another,  that  the  interests  of  all 
men  and  all  nations  are  identical,  and  that  true  progress  and 
true  prosperity  for  all  are  to  be  found  in  universal  mutual  ser- 
vice, which  can  never  be  effected  by  law.  The  harmony  and 
unity  of  nature  are  not  realized  by  the  laws  of  nature,  but  by 
conflict  among  the  various  elements  of  the  organisms,  and 
society  will  best  flourish  when  free  play  is  given  social  forces 
and  when  governmental  activity  is  confined  to  laws  designed 
to  secure  each  member  equality  of  opportunity  and  equality  of 
rights  in  the  conflict  of  life.  The  words  of  John  Fiske,  which 
express  the  conclusion  he  drew  from  the  study  of  paternalism 
in  New  England,  deserve  consideration  :  "  For  while  it  is  true 
— though  few  people  know  it — that  by  no  imaginable  artifice 
can  you  make  a  society  that  is  better  than  the  human  units  you 
put  into  it,  it  is  also  true  that  nothing  is  easier  than  to  make  a 
society  that  is  worse  than  its  units." 

It  is  well  for  our'  legislators  also  to  know  that  the  multi- 
plicity of  laws  passed  will  not  guarantee  the  progress  of  so- 
ciety. The  Justinian  Code  did  not  save  the  Byzantine  Empire 
from  economic  and  political  ruin.  It  were  better  for  us  if 
fewer  laws  were  passed  and  greater  thought  given  to  secure 
statutes  which  mean  social  advancement.  Politicians  laugh  at 
students  of  social  science  who  set  forth  the  need  of  society. 
Rude  barbarism  in  times  passed  hindered  the  advancement  of 
science  by  scorning  and  persecuting  the  students  of  their  days, 
and  blatant  demagogues  swayed  by  the  same  motives,  still 
scotch  the  progress  of  society.  Before  the  noisy  existence  of 
the  industrial  age  began,  the  sedentary,  quiet,  thinking  people 
had  done  their  work  and  prepared  the  way.  And  the  wage- 
earning  classes  must  learn,  before  their  future  well-being  is 
placed  on   a   sure  foundation,  that  the  healers   of  ephemeral 


CONCLUSION   OF   THE   WHOLE   MATTER.  361 

popularity,  whose  vigor  lies  in  their  voices,  can  never,  by  in- 
adequate and  dangerous  legislative  remedies,  cure  their  dis- 
eases. Time  will  prove  that  their  loud  phrases  and  chimeras 
are  only  hobby-horses  on  which  popular  heroes  ride  for  a  day. 

The  greatest  statesmen  the  world  has  seen  have  only  been 
able  to  direct  and  regulate  the  vital  energies  which  repose  in 
the  bosom  of  society.  Solon  could  only  establish  the  laws  the 
people  could  bear  and  not  the  best  system  of  laws  he  could  de- 
vise. It  is  only  up-start  statesmen  who  are  confident  that  they 
can  change  society  to  order,  as  the  potter  the  clay.  They  for- 
get that  the  material  upon  which  they  work  is  an  association  of 
psycho-physical  energies  and  not  an  inorganic  mass  governed 
by  mechanical  principles  and  independent  of  physical  environ- 
ment. If  our  legislators  were  trained  in  history  and  social 
science  they  would  know  that  continuity  is  one  of  the  laws  of 
evolution  and  the  necessary  condition  of  existence,  and  that  the 
scalpel  ought  not  to  be  used  in  human  affairs  save  when  all 
other  remedies  have  failed.  Cicero  says  that  the  divine  maxim 
of  Plato  was,  never  to  use  violence  to  his  country  any  more 
than  to  his  parents,  but  our  ready-made  legislators,  who  are 
picked  up  from  the  street  or  taken  from  the  saloon  and  sent  to 
grind  out  laws,  attempt  suddenly  to  destroy  the  historic  type  of 
our  community  and  precipitate  disastrous  consequences.  The 
clear-sighted  David  Hume  said  :  "  In  all  cases  it  must  be  ad- 
vantageous to  know  what  is  most  perfect  in  the  kind,  that  we 
may  be  able  to  bring  any  real  constitution  or  form  of  govern- 
ment as  near  it  as  possible,  by  such  gentle  alterations  and  inno- 
vations as  may  not  give  too  great  disturbance  to  society." 
When  the  working  classes  will  understand  these  principles, 
they  will  not  be  hypnotized  by  blind  leaders  whose  mischievous 
interference  abases  society  and  leads  the  unconscious  throng  to 
hopeless  difficulties. 

There  are  lines  along  which  intelligent  legislative  action  can 
exalt  our  society.  Population  is  increased  by  the  high  birth 
rate  among  our  working  classes.  The  investigations  of  Engel- 
mann  above  referred  to  and  those  of  President  Eliot  prove  that 
the  middle  and  educated  classes  fail  to  reproduce  themselves. 


362  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

That  is  not  the  case  here.  Large  families  are  the  rule  among 
the  majority  of  households  in  these  coal  fields,  but  the  rate  of 
infant  mortality  is  appalling.  This  is  largely  due  to  prevent- 
able causes  and  offers  a  field  of  action  to  wise  legislators  to 
render  patriotic  service.  Let  the  sanitary  laws  be  executed 
and  rigidly  enforced,  and  let  parents  who  allow  their  children 
to  sicken  and  die  without  making  an  effort  to  secure  the  ser- 
vice of  physicians,  feel  the  effect  of  stringent  laws  covering 
the  neglect.  It  is  also  little  less  than  criminal  to  force  many 
of  our  people  to  live  in  habitations  that  do  not  keep  out  the 
cold  of  winter  which  frail  infants  cannot  stand.  If  the  com- 
panies will  not  tear  down  the  rickety  old  shacks  from  which 
they  have  derived  an  income  for  the  last  fifty  years  or  more, 
then  compulsory  legislation  should  be  brought  to  bear  upon 
them  to  provide  better  dwellings  for  their  employees. 

The  laws  regulating  child  labor  should  be  uniform  and  bet- 
ter executed.  The  State  of  Pennsylvania  is  behind  many  of 
her  sister  states  in  this,  but  the  recent  agitation,  started  by  the 
revelations  made  before  the  Coal  Strike  Commission,  bids  fair  to 
effect  an  improvement  as  far  as  the  anthracite  regions  are  con- 
cerned. We  can  never  hope  to  assimilate  the  mass  of  raw  mate- 
rial in  these  coal  fields  unless  we  insist  on  their  enlightenment. 
Every  patriot  should  insist  upon  giving  every  child  the  rudiments 
of  knowledge  which  will  enable  him  to  possess  that  degree  of  in- 
telligence which  may  reasonably  be  expected  in  a  citizen  of  a 
democracy.  Provision  should  also  be  made  by  law  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  kindergarten  schools  in  every  school  district  in  our 
territory.  Dr.  Eugene  Smith  says :  "  Science  proclaims  .  .  . 
that  every  dollar  that  the  State  expends  in  providing  that  wise 
and  uniform  nurture  of  its  children  which  they  need  before  reach- 
ing school  age,  ^*s  worth  ten  spent  after  that  in  correction  and 
education,  and  a  thousand  expended  for  protection  from  crimi- 
nality and  the  reformation  of  criminals.''  Dr.  Harris  also  says 
of  these  schools  :  "  It  is  a  part  of  the  system,  as  an  adjunct  to 
the  public  schools,  to  educate  every  woman  in  the  valuable 
matters  relating  to  the  early  training  of  children." 

Some  means  should  also  be  devised  to  take  our  educational 


CONCLUSION   OF   THE    WHOLE    MATTER.  363 

system  out  of  the  hands  of  politicians.  As  affairs  are  now- 
conducted  the  locally  elected  boards  of  directors  are  supreme 
and  the  State  exercises  no  supervisory  power  whatsoever.  The 
results  are  inefficiency  in  the  schools ;  defective  plans  of  in- 
struction ;  lack  of  uniformity  in  studies  and  methods  so  that 
pupils  transferred  from  one  borough  to  another  cannot  con- 
tinue their  studies  and  are  often  discouraged  and  leave  school ; 
corruption  in  business  transactions  and  the  selection  of  direc- 
tors, who  are  dominated  by  egoistic  motives,  and  wholly  in- 
capable of  rendering  the  best  service  to  the  wards  of  the  State. 
Patriotic  sentiment  should  make  such  a  condition  as  this  im- 
possible, and  the  rights  of  the  rising  generation  should  be 
better  and  more  efficiently  guarded.  The  education  of  our 
youth  ought  to  be  entrusted  to  the  hands  of  trained  men,  who 
should  give  the  State  a  uniform  system  best  adapted  to  the 
requirements  of  our  youth,  and  wholly  removed  from  party 
politics. 

It  would  seem  also  that  the  training  of  boys  and  girls  for 
the  business  of  life  requires  a  modification  of  our  present  edu- 
cational system.  The  rudiments  of  a  common  education  ought 
to  be  acquired  by  every  normal  child  by  the  time  he  is  twelve 
years  of  age ;  after  that,  those  who,  by  social  status  and  native 
capacity  have  no  prospect  before  them  other  than  manual  labor, 
ought  to  have  technical  instruction  whereby  they  may  be 
equipped  for  useful  service  in  the  industrial  army.  It  seems  an 
anomaly  that  delinquent  children  should  be  better  treated  in 
this  regard  than  those  of  regular  and  orderly  habits.  IMr. 
O.  Eltzbacher  discussed  this  question  in  the  February  (1903) 
number  of  the  Nineteenth  Century  and  said  :  "  Let  us  hope  that 
the  spirit  of  combination  which  seems  to  be  growing,  though 
somewhat  slowly,  within  the  community,  will  in  due  course  dot 
the  whole  country  with  technical  schools  founded  and  super- 
vised by  the  various  industries  themselves  and  planted  under 
the  eye  of  those  industries  in  their  business  center.  .  .  .  Let 
us  hope,  besides,  that  the  direct  active  interest  in  education, 
which  practical  men  are  beginning  to  take,  will  cause  in  course 
of  time  the  mapping  out  of  specialized  school  programmes  by 


364  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

competent  experts  for  all  schools  from  elementary  schools  to 
universities  throughout  the  country ;  for,  after  all,  practical  men, 
not  tradition-bound  schoolmasters  and  well-meaning  clergymen, 
can  determine  the  practical  requirements  of  education/' 

The  female  youths  should  also  be  provided  for  by  instituting 
schools  where  each  could  be  trained  in  the  duties  of  mother- 
hood and  in  the  domestic  arts.  The  hope  of  the  world  for  a 
healthy,  vigorous,  energetic,  and  conscientious  class  of  working 
people  lies  in  a  better  type  of  motherhood,  and  the  best  invest- 
ment the  State  can  make  is  to  build  up  a  higher  grade  of 
mothers  —  women  who  possess  knowledge  and  intelligence  to 
know  that  children,  physically  and  mentally  strong,  cannot  be 
raised  in  bad  sanitary,  physical  and  moral  conditions.  When 
society  deals  with  its  children  as  plastic  material  that  will  re- 
spond to  the  treatment  they  receive,  and  realizes  that  each  nor- 
mal child  is  capable  of  being  trained  in  skill,  intelligence  and 
character  so  as  to  enable  him  to  give  good  service  to  society, 
then  will  we  discover  our  gain  by  the  conservation  of  human 
brain  and  brawn. 

Until  such  a  system  is  instituted  we  must  be  content  to  pay 
the  price  of  our  neglect  in  saloons,  busy  courts  of  justice, 
expensive  county  jails,  crowded  penitentiaries,  wasteful  alms- 
houses and  an  army  of  paupers.  Dr.  Charles  Dudley  Warner 
says  that  the  criminal  differs  from  the  good  citizen  in  the  fact 
that  the  latter  has  contracted  the  habit  of  doing  right  and  the 
former  the  habit  of  doing  wrong.  Z.  K.  Brockway  says  that 
prisoners  need  two  things :  "  the  habit  of  quick  and  accurate 
adjustment  to  good  environment,  and  the  habit  of  forethought." 
If  these  habits  had  been  inculcated  in  early  life  by  a  system  of 
education  in  the  hands  of  masters,  the  presumption  is  that  a 
large  percentage  of  criminals  would  never  have  fallen  into 
crime. 

Intelligent  legislative  measures  are  needed  on  the  question 
of  alcoholism  and  criminality.  John  W.  Griggs  has  said  :  "  An 
extended  experience  of  personal  participation  in  legislation 
according  to  the  American  system  (which  we  think  is  the  best 
known)  has  led  me  to  believe  that  there  is  no  one  thing  in  all 


CONCLUSION   OF   THE   WHOLE    MATTER.  365 

the  departments  of  government  or  business  that  is  carried  on 
with  less  scientific  or  orderly  method  than  the  making  of  laws.'' 
This  is  especially  the  case  in  our  treatment  of  drunkards  and 
criminals.  All  we  do  in  both  cases  is  partly  to  keep  these  anti- 
social elements  within  moderation  and  leave  the  sources,  whence 
they  are  are  fed,  untouched.  Our  legislators  have  passed  a  law 
to  buy  blood-hounds  *  to  aid  our  sheriffs  in  the  discovery  of 
criminals.  If  less  crime  were  tolerated  in  high  places  and  the 
laws  were  administered  with  Spartan  impartiality  and  rigor 
against  all  classes  of  criminals  in  society,  there  would  be  no 
need  of  this  resort  to  the  savagery  of  slavery  days.  Professor 
Ferri  says  that  70  per  cent,  of  discovered  crimes  goes  un- 
punished, and  of  the  murders  committed  only  2  per  cent,  of  the 
murderers  is  executed.  When  legislation  relative  to  criminals 
is  made  to  harmonize  with  the  conclusions  of  the  science  of 
penology,  and  when  laws  are  framed  by  men  who,  by  experi- 
ence and  scientific  research,  are  thoroughly  familiar  with  the 
subject,  these  anti-social  elements,  which  prey  upon  the  social 
body,  will  soon  be  eliminated. 

The  Legislature  can  also  interfere  to  good  purpose  in  the 
curse  of  alcoholism  by  limiting  the  number  of  saloons  to  the 
population,  by  punishing  drunkenness,  by  holding  the  vendors  of 
intoxicants  responsible  for  the  mischief  they  cause,  and  by  plac- 
ing the  inveterate  drunkard  in  safe-keeping  where  he  will  not 
afflict  society  with  his  nuisance  and  will  not  transmit  his 
enervated  will  and  depraved  nature  to  innocent  offspring. 

Through  Personal  Effort 

Legislative  measures  at  best  are  of  uncertain  value,  and 
when  once  set  in  motion  are,  if  their  effect  is  mischievous,  hard 
to  correct.  Individual  efforts  to  elevate  society  are  far  more 
certain,  and  if  they  prove  injurious  to  the  common  weal  they 
can  be  more  speedily  adjusted  to  the  conditions.  If  our  people 
depended  more  on  themselves  and  less  upon  the  machine  of 
government,  we  are  sure  that  their  social  and  industrial  con- 
dition would  be  far  better. 

♦This  bill  was  vetoed  by  the  Governor. 


366  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

Sir  Henry  Maine  said  that  "  the  unit  of  an  ancient  society 
was  the  family  and  of  a  modern  society  the  individual/'  This 
is  true  but  it  is  also  equally  true  that  man  can  only  make  prog- 
ress by  cooperation,  and  that  society  is  the  strongest  which 
can  bring  its  members  to  a  perfect  solidarity  by  the  voluntary 
action  of  its  units.  Some  one  has  lately  said  that  the  maxi- 
mum of  individualization  will  only  be  possible  with  a  maxi- 
mum of  socialization.  Much  of  the  trouble  of  modern  society 
arises  because  of  the  activity  of  the  "  devil  of  self-interest." 
If  the  units  in  society  kept  before  them  the  collective  welfare 
of  the  group  and  aimed  so  to  regulate  the  activity  of  the  social 
aggregate  as  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  whole,  they  would 
ultimately  promote  also  their  own  interests.  When  individual- 
ization is  synonymous  with  monopolization,  then  the  sentiment 
of  solidarity  is  scorched  as  trees  are  in  a  desert  land.  What 
peace  can  come  when  the  working  class  and  the  capitalistic 
class  arrange  themselves  in  hostile  camps  and  challenge  each 
other  to  war  ?  Our  industrial  leaders,  with  their  clear  vision 
and  active  brains,  often  smile  at  the  mad  surge  of  bitter  po- 
lemic that  engrosses  the  great  mass  of  their  employees,  and  re- 
gard the  latter  with  contempt  for  wrestling  with  a  truth  that 
to  the  former  has  become  trite,  forgetting  that  the  "  common 
herd  "  lives  by  sentiment  more  than  they  do  and  that,  under 
pseudo-ideas,  they  may  be  moved  to  action  as  strenuously  as 
ever  martyrs  were  who  died  for  the  truth.  What  we  need  is 
men  of  exalted  ideas  who  believe  in  this  "  common  herd,"  who 
realize  that  it  is  capable  of  a  better  fate  than  to  be  driven  to 
the  slaughter  house.  Danton  once  said :  "If  you  suffer  the 
poor  to  grow  up  as  animals,  they  may  chance  to  become  beasts 
and  rend  you."  We  have  seen  a  great  mass  of  these  working- 
men  raging  and  in  its  fury  quenching  the  spark  divine  in  man 
with  a  brutality  that  characterized  savage  beasts.  Which  is 
the  better  —  to  spread  the  light  of  truth  among  these  men  or  do 
as  a  recent  capitalist  said  :  "  Hands  off,  let's  fight  it  out  with 
guns." 

Among  the  nations  which  came  to  the  coronation  of  King 
Edward  YII.  of  England,  was  a  contingent  of  Fijian  native 


CONCLUSION    OF   THE   WHOLE    MATTER.  367 

constabulary  that  made  a  good  appearance.  A  little  over  fifty 
years  ago  the  last  native  king  told  Lord  Rosmead  who  pro- 
tested against  his  cannibalism  :  "  It's  all  very  well  for  you  to 
talk  in  that  way,  you  have  plenty  of  beef  in  your  country." 
The  change  has  been  effected  by  the  touch  of  civilization. 
Man  has  always  advanced  by  the  masses  following  the  lead  of 
the  upper  classes.  The  Merchant  Guilds  of  England  in  the 
thirteenth  century  rose  under  the  leadership  of  strong  men  whose 
motto  was,  *'  Let  all  share  the  same  lot."  The  daring  and 
self-confidence  of  Queen  Bess  inspired  her  subjects,  and  the 
people  did  great  things  because  they  caught  these  qualities 
from  their  sovereign  head.  Cromwell  said  :  "A  few  honest  men 
are  better  than  number.  If  you  choose  godly  honest  men  to 
be  captains  of  horse,  honest  men  will  follow  them."  We  do 
not  believe  that  the  masses  object  to  the  concentration  of  riches 
in  a  few  hands,  if  only  the  wealthy  become  leaders  in  the  true 
sense  of  the  word.  What  they  object  to  is  the  foolish  display 
of  unbalanced  plutocrats  who  for  vain  show  spend  more  in  one 
evening  than  is  earned  by  the  average  workingman  in  a  year. 
Millions  spent  on  works  of  architecture  and  paintings  may  ad- 
vance human  culture  and  knowledge,  but  could  not  the  culture 
and  knowledge  of  men  be  better  advanced  by  bringing  the 
beautiful  and  the  good  within  reach  of  the  thousands  of  toilers 
into  whose  monotonous  life  very  little  that  is  beautiful  and 
sublime  ever  enters  ?  The  fact  that  God  "  hath  made  of  one 
blood  all  nations  of  men  for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the 
earth  "  should  never  be  lost  sight  of.  Take  the  average  among 
the  poor  and  their  possibility  of  advancement  is  equal  to  that 
of  the  average  among  the  rich  provided  equal  opportunities 
and  advantages  are  given  them.  These  people  with  tired 
hands  and  weary  feet  have  modest  longings  in  their  hearts 
which  are  never  satisfied,  and  are  there  more  imperative  de- 
mands upon  the  wealth  of  the  sons  of  ease  than  to  do  some- 
thing for  these  men  whose  lives  are  dead  to  the  higher  pleasures 
and  refinements  of  civilization  ?  Men  who  are  willing  to  do 
this  will  not  only  benefit  society  but  they  will  also  justify  the 
wealth  which  they  enjoy  and  render  it  more  secure.     We  are 


368  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

no  pessimists ;  but  suppose  the  party  of  discontent  were  to  lose 
its  faith  in  the  righteousness  of  our  present  system  of  distri- 
bution of  wealth  and  break  loose,  what  would  be  the  conse- 
quence ?  Would  steel  cars,  buried  vaults,  marble  walls,  electric 
bells,  etc.,  stay  them  from  laying  hands  on  private  property  ? 
It  is  safer  to  appropriate  a  part  of  that  wealth  now,  while  it  is 
day,  to  teach  these  "  animals,"  lest  the  night  come  when  the 
"  beast "  will  break  loose  to  rend  the  party  of  content. 

The  Le  Play  societies  of  France  and  the  Positivists  of  Eng- 
land have  raised  the  cry  "  Moralize  the  employer."  They  aim 
to  teach  him  that  he  is  a  trustee  of  public  as  well  as  private 
interests.  Our  Commissioner  of  Labor,  in  speaking  of  the 
fathers  of  the  factory  system,  says  :  '^  They  were  simple  men  of 
great  intelligence,  industry  and  enterprise.  They  have  be- 
queathed the  system  to  this  age,  with  the  imperfections  inci- 
dent to  every  human  institution,  and  the  task  of  harmonizing 
their  innovation  with  existing  institutions,  and  with  the  true 
spirit  of  righteousness,  belongs  really  to  the  great  employers  of 
labor  rather  than  to  the  professed  teachers  of  morality."  The 
same  gentleman  has  also  said  of  every  captain  of  industry : 
"  He  is  something  more  than  a  producer,  he  is  an  instrument 
of  God  for  the  uplifting  of  the  race."  The  idea  is  too  preva- 
lent that  the  spiritual  affairs  of  men  are  no  concern  of  the  em- 
ployer ;  that  he  is  only  responsible  for  the  wages  they  earn 
and,  when  these  are  paid,  his  responsibility  ceases.  Under  this 
principle  our  moral  decadence  has  come.  The  indifference  of 
many  of  our  leaders  in  the  industrial  world  to  the  moral  wel- 
fare of  the  men  whose  character  they  daily  influence,  has  re- 
sulted in  a  lamentable  indifference  to  morals  in  general.  Man 
has  never  advanced  save  under  social  pressure,  and  when  entre- 
preneurs lose  sight  of  the  sacred  trust  to  mould  the  morals  of 
those  under  them,  the  word  of  moralists  and  the  precept  of 
instructors  have  little  effect.  And  not  until  the  upper  classes 
in  our  social  hierarchy  will  again  teach,  and  by  direct  example 
lead  their  employees  to  appreciate  the  Christian  ideals,  can  we 
expect  that  regeneration  of  our  society  that  will  serve  as  a  basis 
to  raise  a  working  population  of  sound  mind  and  body. 


CONCLUSION   OF   THE   WHOLE   MATTER.  369 

The  principle  of  vicarious  sacrifice  is  in  nature.  Some  of 
the  cells  of  the  brain  are  able  to  substitute  themselves  in  the 
place  of  others  and  do  their  work.  Sensitive  nerves  some- 
times do  the  work  of  motor  nerves.  It  is  found  also  in  so- 
ciety. The  military  power  ever  stands  ready  to  sacrifice  life 
and  limb  that  the  rest  of  the  community  may  dwell  in  peace  and 
safety.  It  has  always  been  the  principle  which  dominated  the 
pioneers  of  science  and  art,  religion  and  philosophy,  who  made 
possible  the  march  of  civilization.  And  is  not  this  the  very 
soul  of  the  Nazerene's  teaching  in  whose  honor  these  churches 
which  stud  our  valleys  and  mountains  were  built  ?  And  yet, 
with  very  rare  exceptions,  the  leaders  in  our  territory  have  not 
exercised  it  to  the  extent  their  business  sense  and  general  cul- 
ture ought  to  suggest.  Dr.  Orello  Cone  has  asked  :  "  How 
much  less  would  there  be  of  unscrupulous  gain,  of  the  hot  chase 
after  riches,  of  the  fever  of  demoralizing  speculation,  of  the 
selfish  greed  that  cares  not  whom  it  destroys,  of  the  hard- 
hearted indifference  to  the  poor,  whose  bodies  and  souls  are 
converted  into  machines  for  producing  wealth  if  men  subordi- 
nated their  activities  to  righteousness,  honesty,  kindness  and 
fraternity?" 

Some  of  the  indicted  may  ask  :  "  What  can  be  done  with  such 
poor  material  ?  "  We  ask  what  have  you  tried  to  do  ?  Some 
have  built  rooms  and  others  have  placed  houses  at  the  disposal 
of  their  employees,  and,  in  some  instances,  these  very  appli- 
ances have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  worst  element  in  the 
towns  and  have  become  a  curse  and  not  a  blessing.  The  ex- 
perience of  Octavia  Hall,  Edith  Wright,  Ellen  Collins,  Jane 
Addams,  and  a  host  of  other  consecrated  men  and  women  in 
our  university  and  social  settlements  on  both  sides  of  the 
ocean,  has  established  the  fact  that  an  old  house,  under  the 
personal  supervision  of  a  competent  person,  gives  better  re- 
sults than  a  model  dwelling  given  in  charge  of  the  people 
themselves.  "  Arma  virumque  "  made  the  epics  of  the  old 
world  and  the  same  combination  must  be  relied  upon  in  these 
coal  fields.  Col.  Boise  pointed  out  one  of  the  needs  of  our 
towns  a  decade  ago,  when  he  said  :  "  Associations  for  the  study 
25 


370  ANTHRACITE    COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

and  promotion  of  true  Americanism  ought  to  be  organized  in 
all  the  towns  and  cities  where  little  attention  is  now  paid  to 
this  or  to  the  immigrant,  save  by  the  selfish  politician  with  an 
eye  for  votes.  Instruction  in  the  use  of  the  English  language 
should  have  the  first  place  among  the  purposes  of  these  asso- 
ciations."    None  has  been  instituted. 

Many  operators  have,  long  ago,  observed  the  low  social  and 
moral  conditions  of  employees  living  in  company  houses  and 
yet  the  rentals  have  blinded  them  to  the  fact  that  one  of  the 
best  agencies  for  the  amelioration  of  these  men  would  be  the 
opportunity  of  buying  that  to  which  they  have  a  just  right,  at 
a  fair  price  and  without  being  held  under  any  obligation  or 
asked  for  thanks.  The  saloon  has  devoured  the  substance  of 
our  people,  reduced  their  industrial  efficiency  by  debauching 
their  bodies  and  debasing  their  souls,  and  yet  in  all  our  towns 
no  substitutes  have  been  planted  and  no  efforts  made,  save  in  a 
few  towns  by  a  few  clergymen,  to  reduce  the  number  of  these 
destroyers  of  youth  and  of  chastity.  Pauperism  and  crime 
have  increased,  the  politicians  have  had  a  free  course  to  run 
and  become  rich,  and  upon  the  thrifty  and  industrious  the  bur- 
dens of  these  anti-social  elements  have  fallen,  and  not  until 
lately  have  our  public-spirited  citizens  of  Schuylkill  county 
moved  to  curb  the  extravagance  of  the  one  and  the  parasitism 
of  the  other.  Will  it  not  pay  our  capitalists,  from  considera- 
tions of  economy  only,  to  give  attention  to  these  questions  in 
the  anthracite  coal  regions  ?  The  strike  of  1902  represented  a 
total  loss  of  over  $100,000,000  because  of  a  conflict  which  the 
intelligence  of  the  twentieth  century  ought  to  have  made  im- 
possible. 

But  all  the  wealth  of  these  coal  fields  turned  into  philan- 
thropic channels  will  not  bring  us  relief  unless  the  workers 
themselves  resolve  to  raise  their  standard  of  social  efficiency, 
and  industrial  worth.  The  drinking  done  by  mine  employees  * 
in  these  coal  fields  is  appalling.  It  is  the  greatest  enemy  of 
organized  labor,  and  if  the  Miners'  Union  will  not  try  to 

*  In  many  of  our  towns  for  every  cent  spent  on  milk  four  are  spent  on 
intoxicants. 


CONCLUSION   OF   THE   WHOLE   MATTER.  371 

check  it,  the  time  will  come  when  it  will  destroy  the  union. 
Labor  leaders  must  feel  and  know  that  the  greatest  foe  to  the 
working  classes  is  this  accursed  slavery  to  the  "  schooner." 
This  is  the  reason  that  labor  leaders  in  English  trades  union- 
ism have  become  total  abstainers  and  the  temperance  sentiment 
is  working  its  way  into  the  ranks  of  the  Social  Democrats  of 
Germany.  It  should  also  be  prominent  in  the  Miners'  Union  if 
the  organization  is  to  remain  permanent  and  its  possibilities  for 
good  are  to  be  fully  realized. 

Workingmen  should  also  remember  that  the  hierarchical 
principle  is  rooted  in  the  very  nature  of  things  and  that  in  no 
way  possible  can  it  be  obliterated.  Some  men  are  made  to 
govern,  others  to  serve.  The  principle  is  due  to  differences  of 
natural  endowment  which  man  is  as  powerless  to  obliterate  as 
he  is  to  explain.  The  inevitable  consequence  is  that  men  are 
not  equal  and  can  never  be.  When  AVilliam  Morris  read 
"  Looking  Backward  '^  he  felt  a  stifling  sensation.  No  wonder, 
for  by  nature,  his  individuality  wanted  the  arena  of  laisser- 
jaire  to  play  in,  notwithstanding  his  advocacy  of  socialism. 
Who  would  want  to  live  in  a  society  whose  historical  type 
was  violently  disrupted  by  the  intrusion  of  a  scheme  to  level 
the  inequalities  established  by  the  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth  ? 
It  would  be  a  hybrid  composed  equally  of  oriental  despotism 
and  a  democracy  void  of  all  restraint.  The  Greek  idea  of  life 
as  a  mountain  guarded  by  lions  is  better.  The  brave  and  the 
wise  tame  the  lions,  the  giants  ascend  the  mountain  and  with 
strong  arms  tear  the  rocks  and  fill  the  gorges  and,  in  spite  of 
the  thunderbolts,  scale  the  heights  and  reach  the  summit  amid 
the  applause  of  the  mass  in  the  plain  beneath.  We  need  the 
brave,  the  wise  and  the  giant  to-day ;  their  labors  make  ours 
lighter,  their  contributions  lighten  our  burdens;  and  when 
wage  earners  will  fully  recognize  the  service  of  our  leaders  in 
the  industrial  army,  they  will  cease  to  carp  and  bite  and  covet 
because  they  occupy  a  lower  place  in  the  social  hierarchy. 

The  workers  must  also  perceive  the  fallacy  of  the  prevailing 
doctrine,  that  it  is  good  for  society  when  the  wage  earners 
spend  every  cent  they  earn.     Superficial  economists  preach  that 


372  ANTHEACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

the  good  of  the  community  is  served  when  men  freely  spend 
their  money.  No  one  will  question  the  fact  that  thrift  in  the 
individual  is  virtuous,  and  can  its  practice  by  every  unit  in  a 
group  be  mischievous  to  the  community  ?  All  now-a-days  are 
in  a  hurry  to  spend  and  make  an  ostentatious  display  of  their 
wealth,  so  that  an  artificial  air  has  permeated  the  working 
classes  to  the  exclusion  of  the  simplicity  and  the  naturalness 
which  once  were  their  chief  attraction. 

"Plain  living  and  high  thinking  are  no  more. 
The  homely  beauty  of  the  good  old  cause 
Is  gone." 

This  is  the  reason  of  much  of  the  social  disquietude  of  the 
day.  The  wants  of  our  working  people  increase  much  more 
rapidly  than  their  wages,  and  the  result  is  debt,  anxiety  and 
social  impurity.  It  would  be  well  for  us  to  recall  the  words 
spoken  of  the  greatest  of  American  sages,  Benjamin  Franklin, 
about  the  middle  of  the  last  century  :  "The  prevalence  of  habits 
of  industry  and  economy,  of  foresight  and  thrift,  of  cautious 
calculation  in  the  formation  of  plans,  and  energy  and  persever- 
ance in  the  execution  of  them,  and  of  the  disposition  to  invest 
what  is  earned  in  substantial  and  enduring  possessions,  rather 
than  expend  it  in  brief  pleasures  or  for  purposes  of  idle  show 
is  due  to  an  incalculable  degree  to  the  doings  and  sayings  and 
history  of  this  great  examplar."  If  these  virtues,  which  once 
belonged  to  the  national  character,  were  again  incorporated  in  the 
mass  of  our  working  people,  they  would  not  turn  their  faces  to 
the  delusive  dreams  of  communism  and  socialism. 

Through  the  Church. 

Masters  of  thought  and  expression  tell  us  that  our  age  is 
daily  growing  more  materialistic.  Dr.  Cone  says  that  the 
gigantic  materialism  of  the  times  overtops  and  hides  from  the 
view  of  men  the  idealism  of  the  New  Testament.  Others  say 
that  society  has  substituted  political  economy  for  religion,  and 
has  taken  for  its  supreme  aim  to  secure  to  the  fullest  possible 
degree  the  means  of  enjoyment.     Dr.  Brake  has  well  said  that 


CONCLUSION   OF   THE   WHOLE   MATTER.  373 

this  denotes  "  the  organization  of  society  from  the  point  of  view 
of  the  stomach-question.  It  has  materialism  as  its  presupposi- 
tion and  atheism  as  its  necessary  consequence."  There  is  little 
wonder  that  men  have  come  to  this  conclusion  when  an  un- 
bridled press  sows  broadcast  the  materialistic  views  of  theorists 
who  forgot  all  realities  save  what  they  can  see  or  touch. 
When  some  of  our  teachers  say  that  "  supreme  selfishness  is 
presumed  in  all  business  transactions,  and  that  to  depend  upon 
anything  else  is  to  build  on  sand/'  and  "  that  the  only  means 
by  which  the  condition  of  mankind  ever  has  been  or  ever  can 
be  improved,  is  the  utilization  of  the  materials  and  the  forces 
that  exist  in  nature,"  there  is  little  wonder. that  a  thousand 
proud  and  insubordinate  spirits  echo  the  sentiments,  knowing 
not  whereof  they  speak.  Society  must  ever  live  according  to 
the  laws  of  nature,  but  it  is  also  true  that  the  inexorable  tri- 
bunal of  history  pronounces  judgment  on  every  nation  that  has 
tried  to  live  contrary  to  the  laws  of  morality.  Let  the  sense 
of  justice  die  out  in  the  heart  of  the  people  and  the  foundations 
of  society  are  shaken  and  all  the  relations  of  life  are  disjointed. 
Let  false  moral  ideas  and  perversity  possess  the  hearts  of  the 
people  and  the  mischievous  effect  will  be  felt  simultaneously 
in  every  sphere  of  human  activity.  We  can  never  live  and 
prosper  unless  the  public  preserves  law  and  order,  and  there  is 
no  expedient  yet  found  which  can  take  the  place  of  Christian 
ideals,  upon  which  American  society  has  in  the  past  depended 
for  its  peace. 

Carl  S.  Vrooman,  writing  last  January  in  the  Outlook,  says 
of  the  popular  university  movement  in  France  :  "  It  is  at  bottom 
a  religious  movement.  Scientific  French  agnosticism  is  be- 
coming constructive,  is  trying  to  develop  a  religion.  It  has 
discovered  that  the  cold  truth  of  science  is  powerless  except  as 
warmed  into  life  by  the  flame  of  a  passionate  altruism  —  that 
the  scientific  spirit  and  the  Christ-like  spirit  are  fundamentally 
and  eternally  necessary  each  to  the  other."  The  Father  of 
our  Country  saw  this  when  France  discarded  religion.  He 
said  in  his  farewell  address  :  "  Of  all  the  dispositions  and  habits, 
which  lead  to  political  prosperity,  religion  and  morality  are 


374  ANTHRACITE   COAL   COMMUNITIES. 

indispensable  supports.  In  vain  would  that  man  claim  the 
tribute  of  patriotism  who  should  labor  to  subvert  these  great 
pillars  of  human  happiness,  the  firmest  props  of  the  duties  of 
men  and  citizens.  .  .  .  Let  us  with  caution  indulge  the  sup- 
position that  morality  can  be  maintained  without  religion.  .  .  . 
Reason  and  experience  both  forbid  us  to  expect  that  national 
morality  can  prevail  in  exclusion  of  religious  principles.^'  In 
the  Pope's  Cyclical  letter  of  April,  1901,  we  find  the  same 
warning :  "  Society,  in  its  foolhardy  effort  to  escape  from  God, 
has  rejected  the  divine  order  and  revelation,  and  it  is  thus  with- 
drawn from  the  salutary  effects  of  Christianity,  which  is  mani- 
festly the  most  solid  guarantee  of  order,  the  strongest  bond  of 
fraternity,  and  the  inexhaustible  source  of  public  and  private 
virtue."  While  the  German  Emperor  in  a  striking  speech  on 
religion,  in  June,  1 902,  said  :  "  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
the  empire  was  rooted  in  simplicity  and  the  fear  of  God.  I 
look  to  all  priests  and  laymen  to  help  me  uphold  religion 
among  the  people  in  order  that  the  German  name  may  pre- 
serve its  health  and  strength.''  And  Hon.  Wayne  MacVeagh, 
agreeing  with  these  eminent  personages,  said  that  the  Christian 
ideals  should  be  constantly  kept  ^^  before  the  minds  of  the 
plain  people  born  in  America,  as  well  as  before  the  minds  of 
the  hordes  of  untaught  immigrants  who  are  flocking  to  our 
shores  from  every  quarter  of  the  globe,  (for)  they  have  a  ten- 
dency to  soften  their  asperities,  to  lessen  their  animosities,  and 
to  encourage  them  to  bear  with  greater  patience  the  bitter  and 
ever-growing  contrast  between  the  lives  of  idleness  and  luxury 
which  we  and  those  dear  to  us  are  privileged  to  lead,  and  the 
lives  of  labor  and  poverty  which  they  and  those  equally  dear 
to  them  are  condemned  to  endure."  These  voices  agree  that 
religion  is  indispensable  for  the  health  and  strength  of  the 
nation,  and  that  the  Christian  type  gives  us  the  ethical  ideals 
necessary  to  preserve  these  essential  elements. 

The  earnest  words  of  these  leaders  also  suggest  that  the 
Christian  ideals  do  not  have  the  place  they  should  have  in  the 
life  of  the  people.  Various  reasons  are  assigned  for  this  by 
apologists,  but  none  denies  the  fact  that  the  ethical  teachings  of 


CONCLUSION   OF   THE    WHOLE   MATTER.  375 

Jesus  have  not  the  power  they  oiice  had  over  the  hearts  of  men. 
It  is  not  because  there  are  not  enough  churches  or  a  plentiful 
supply  of  well-trained  clergymen  —  there  is  a  superfluity  of 
both.  It  is  not  because  men  are  atheists  and  infidels,  for  the 
indictment  is  not  true  of  our  working  classes.  It  is  true,  how- 
ever, that  the  laity  has  lost  faith  in  many  doctrines  which  once 
were  basic  in  the  Christian  faith  and  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
clergy  have  failed  thus  far  to  adapt  the  ethical  ideals  of  the 
Bible  to  the  needs  of  the  people  of  this  generation.  We  be- 
lieve also  that  the  Protestant  branch  of  the  Christian  church, 
in  swinging  so  far  away  from  the  ritual  and  symbolism  which 
formed  so  essential  a  part  of  Christian  worship  and  in  laying 
special  emphasis  on  the  sermou,  appealed  to  the  intellect  at  the 
expense  of  the  heart  and  demanded  of  the  masses  greater  in- 
tellectual power  than  they  have  time  or  inclination  to  give  in 
order  to  make  divine  service  a  success.  The  of  7:o}.oc  do  not 
live  so  much  in  the  head  as  in  the  heart,  and  in  the  barren 
walls  and  plain  pulpits  of  most  Protestant  churches  there  is 
little  to  inspire  the  heart  to  devotion.  If  any  powers  of  the 
soul  are  more  exercised  than  others  in  divine  worship,  they  are 
the  sentiments,  and  in  Protestant  churches,  especially  under  the 
ministration  of  clergymen  of  mediocre  ability,  the  feelings  are 
very  slightly  touched.  The  churches  where  ritual  and  symbo- 
lism are  used  are  the  most  flourishing  and  have  in  them  the 
promise  of  long  life,  and  if  by  the  restoration  of  these  aids 
greater  interest  could  be  aroused  in  the  hearts  of  the  worshipers 
in  Protestant  churches  it  would  seem  advisable  to  restore  them. 
Surely  this  course  would  be  far  more  commendable  than  the 
sensationalism  resorted  to  by  many  preachers  to  "draw  the 
crowd.''  The  church  will  be  in  the  world  as  long  as  men  feel 
the  badness  of  sin  and  the  goodness  of  virtue  ;  it  will  be  main- 
tained as  long  as  love  is  more  attractive  than  hate,  but  the 
danger  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  will  not  be  to  the  people  of  the 
twentieth  century  what  it  has  been  in  the  history  of  every 
nation  in  Christendom  —  a  restraining  and  purifying  power,  a 
regenerating  and  inspiring  force,  a  unifying  and  uplifting  iactor 
in  society.  And  when  the  church  shall  again  mean  all  this  to 
society  then  will  its  social  service  increase. 


376  ANTHRACITE   COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

The  great  need  here  again  is  men.  There  was  a  type  of 
men  in  days  of  old  who  wielded  mighty  power  with  the  people. 
Cuthbert,  the  missionary,  who  said  :  "  Never  did  man  die  of 
hunger  who  served  God  faithfully/'  was  one  '^of  them.  Our 
age,  given  to  stomach  worship,  says  that  fasting  and  asceticism 
are  not  needed ;  half  the  Christian  church  has  thrown  them 
away  and  the  other  half  retains  the  semblance.  But  are  there 
not  spirits  in  the  twentieth  century  which  cannot  be  cast  out 
save  by  "  prayer  and  fasting  '^  ?  Ruskin  has  told  us  that  no 
good  will  ever  be  done  in  teaching  the  eternal  truth  at  the  rate 
of  a  penny  a  line.  The  old  teacher,  Edmund  Rich,  wielded  a 
tremendous  influence,  although  he  used  to  say,  when  money  was 
offered  him  for  teaching,  "  ashes  to  ashes  and  dust  to  dust,"  and 
threw  the  money  away.  But  we  live  in  a  commercial  age 
when  the  dignity  of  the  profession  will  not  allow  talent  to  be 
wasted  in  gratuitous  service,  and  yet  the  sheep  wander  without 
shepherds  whose  voice  they  will  hear.  There  once  was  a  man 
who  said :  *^  The  zeal  of  thine  house  hath  eaten  me  up." 
Never  was  there  any  great  cause  in  the  history  of  the  world 
which  succeeded  without  zeal,  and  the  man  who  is  willing  to 
give  himself  a  living  sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  faithful  service 
for  the  people  will  not  lose  his  reward. 

We  also  want  men  who  will,  by  careful  study  of  the  Bible, 
make  it  a  living  book  to  the  men  and  women  of  the  present 
day.  There  is  no  other  book  that  can  take  its  place  as  an 
exhibit  of  the  operations  of  the  divine  spirit  upon  the  minds  of 
men,  and  if  by  scholarly  and  scientific  research,  the  men  of 
to-day  can  understand  the  conditions  under  which  these  mani- 
festations were  possible  in  the  development  of  the  hnman  mind, 
the  social  service  they  will  render  to  society  will  be  inestimable. 

In  all  human  affairs  economic  considerations  have  had  the 
first  place  in  the  minds  of  men,  and  the  periods  of  disaster  and 
ruin  which  have  fallen  upon  nations  have  been  those  when  the 
soul  sang  its  sweetest,  thought  its  deepest  and  prayed  its  most 
fervent  prayers.  We  live  under  very  different  economic  condi- 
tions from  those  under  which  Israel  lived,  but  if  our  intellectual 
life  kept  pace  with  our  industrial,  we  would  provide  a  place  in 


UNtVERc 

CONCLUSION    OF   THE   WHOLE   MATTER.  377 

our  system  for  the  moral  and  the  religious  factor  upon  which, 
as  far  as  the  inexorable  judgment  of  history  shows,  every  nation, 
regardless  of  its  stage  in  civilization,  has  depended.  The 
Lochrians  always  left  a  vacant  place  in  their  charging  ranks 
for  the  spirit  of  Ajax  Oileus.  If  modern  civilization,  in  its 
industrial  advancement,  had  been  careful  to  provide  a  place 
for  the  divine  Spirit  in  its  ranks,  the  ominous  developments 
now  seen  on  all  sides  would  not  threaten  us.  Are  we  to  be 
taught  the  great  lesson  of  history  again  by  deterioration  and 
retrogression  ?  The  only  way  to  avoid  it  is  by  the  reviving  of 
the  prophetic  spirit  which  will  speak  with  authority  to  the  men 
of  to-day  as  it  did  to  Israel  of  old. 

For  this  purpose  it  is  time  that  the  best  intellects  of  the 
Church  should  come  together  and  devise  means  to  this  end.  It 
is  true  that  the  Spirit  goes  where  it  listeth,  but  man  has  much 
to  do  in  preparing  the  way  for  His  coming.  Professor  Paul 
Haupt  asked  the  other  day  "  if  there  is  any  difference  between 
Catholic  and  Protestant  mathematics,  or  between  Christian  and 
Jewish  physics,  or  between  Episcopalian  and  Presbyterian 
chemistry,"  and  concludes  that  when  the  Bible  is  scientifically 
studied  "only  one  interpretation  can  be  correct."  On  the 
questions  pretaining  to  Biblical  exegeses  there  will  be  differ- 
ences such  as  have  divided  scientists,  but  it  would  seem  reason- 
able to  expect  that  intelligent  and  patriotic  men,  in  view  of  the 
exigencies  of  the  times,  should  find  a  common  standing  ground 
as  to  the  best  method  of  teaching  the  principles  of  morality  and 
religion  to  the  rising  generation.  This  is  not  satisfactorily  done 
by  the  Sunday-school  and  the  home.  Anyone  familiar  with 
the  work  done  in  the  Sunday-schools  and  homes  of  our  com- 
munities knows  whereof  we  speak.  We  are  fast  coming  to  the 
condition  that  even  among  those  who  still  profess  to  adhere  to 
the  Church,  knowledge  of  the  Bible  is  nil,  familiarity  with  the 
fundamental  principles  of  Christianity  is  most  meager,  and 
reverence  for  sacred  things  and  authority  is  fast  dying  out. 
Under  such  conditions  is  it  strange  that  religious  hobbies  pre- 
vail and  gross  superstitions  flourish  ?  There  is  nothing  in  the 
hearts  of  these  youths  to  resist  the  encroachments  of  error  and 


378  ANTHRACITE   COAL    COMMUNITIES. 

folly,  and  the  religious  sentiments,  not  having  substantial  food 
to  feed  on,  feed  on  the  vagaries  of  cunning  men.  Against  this 
tendency,  so  apparent  that  he  who  runs  may  read,  ought  not 
the  leaders  of  religious  thought  to  come  together  and  devise  an 
effective  scheme  for  the  religious  instruction  of  the  youth  which 
will  strengthen  them  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Scripture  and 
ground  them  in  the  faith  of  their  fathers  ?  There  may  come  a 
day  when  the  souls  of  men  will  reach  a  stage  of  development 
that  will  enable  them  to  walk  in  the  light  of  divine  truth  and 
be  wholly  independent  of  both  Bible  and  Church.  We  are  far 
from  that  stage  to-day.  And  those  men  who.  know  how  man 
has  advanced  in  the  quest  after  God  must  feel  that  the  means 
in  common  use  among  Christians  to  promote  the  religious  life 
cannot  be  dispensed  with.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  a 
greater  disaster  to  society  than  violently  to  wrench  the  tradi- 
tional system  of  religious  instruction  from  the  minds  and  hearts 
of  the  people.  In  this,  as  in  all  else,  the  need  is  to  clarify,  to 
strengthen,  and  to  progress,  and  if  done  by  the  cooperative 
action  of  the  leaders  in  the  religious  world,  we  may  confidently 
expect  a  healing  influence  to  come  from  the  Church  of  God  that 
will  remedy  many  of  the  diseases  from  which  we  now  suffer. 


INDEX. 


ABLUTIONS,  custom  of,  143 
Abortion,  evil  of,  75 
Accident  funds,  benefits  of,  267 
confidence  in,  272 
distrust  of,  271 
industrial  friction  and,  270 
when  established,  267 
Accidents,  character  of,  269 

discrepancy  in,  271  (n) 

number  of,  264 
Adaptation,  need  of,  377 
Adulterated  liquors,  235  (n) 
Age  certificate,  unreliable,  176 
Alcoholism,  industrial  and  social  ef- 
fect of,  350 

legislation  and,  365 
Almshouse  of  Schuylkill  Haven,  323 
Almshouses  in  coal  fields,  301 

cost  of  maintenance,  302 

inmates  of,  301 

native  born  in,  302 

real  estate  in,  303 

scandal  of,  303 
Amelioration,  149 

need  of,  370 
American  League  of  the  Cross,  204 
American  ideals,  need  of,  345 
Amusements,  money  spent  on,  108 

thirst  for,  202 
Ancillary  industries,  12 
Anglo-Saxons,  crime  among,  284 

displacement  of,  44 
Annual  earnings,  average,  15 
Anti-saloon  campaign,  226 
Anti-tobacco  leagues,  need  of,  178 
Appalachian  valley,  3 

extent  of,  4 
Arbitrators,  farmers  as,  117 
Ardan,  Kev.  J.  J.,  198 
Art,  need  of  restoring,  220 

spuriousness  of,  220 
Assault  and  battery,   percentage   in 

crime,  286 
Assessors,  births  returned  by,  68 

fees  of,  323 
Atwater,  Prof.  W.  C,  207 
Austria,  birth-rate  of,  69 
Authority  of  law,  need  of,  41 

BAEK,  George  F.,  343 
Bagehot,  Walter,  26,  111,  242 
Banks  in  mining  towns,  244 
deposits  in,  252 
need  of,  248 


Bastardy,  291 
Becket,  Thos.  a,  94 
Bedrooms,  need  of  separate,  145 
Bible,  read  in  schools,  187 

scientific  study  of,  376 
Biology,  laws  of,  84 
Birth-rate  among  Sclavs,  70 

in  counties  and  towns,  69 
Births,  frequency  of,  142 
Blatchford,  Robert,  104 
Boarders,  number  of,  91 
Boarding,  cost  of,  106 
Boards  of  health,  character  of,  335 
and  councils,  336 
number  of,  336 
Boies,  Col.  H.  M.,  350,  356,  369 
Bon,  M.  Le,  358 
Booth,  General,  104 
Borough  councils,  character  of,  325 

officers,  Sclavs  as,  327 
Boroughs,  corruption  in,  328 

contracts  in,  330 

expenses  of,  325 

extravagance  of,  330 

indebtedness  of,  329 

sanitary  conditions  in,  333 
Boyhood,  its  dangers,  180 
Boys,  age  leaving  school,  167 

better  environment  needed,  181 

dissipation  of,  182,  246 

^mbling  among,  180 

m  breakers,  174 

preference  for,  141 

technical  training  for,  363 

trades  for,  292 

training  of,  348 

working  under  age,  167 
Brand,  Sebastian,  181 
Breaker-boys,  character,  dangers,  177 

number  of,  174 
Breakers,  influence  of,  176 
Brides,  average  age  of,  64 
Bridegrooms,  average  age  of,  64 
Brockway,  Z.  R.,  351,  364 
Brooks,  John  Graham,  253,  264 
Buchanan,  103 

Building   and  loan  associations,  17, 
254 

beginning  of,  254 
financiering  of,  258 
homes  aided  by,  256 
industrial  crises  and,  257 
mine-workers  in,  255 
number  of,  254 


379 


380 


INDEX. 


Building  and  loan  associations,  share- 
holders in,  255 
Bureau  of  Mines,  Report  of,  20 
Burial  expenses,  306 

CT.  A.  &  B.  Society,  203 
•     "Calico  basis,"  268  (n) 
Campaign  expenses,  317 
Capitalistic  system,  benefits  of,  353 
Capitalists  envied,  352 

luxury  of,  240 

stimulate  wants,  114 
Carlyle,  Thos.,  90,  95 
on  drink,  243 
Carnegie,  Andrew,  195 
Cass  township,  taxables  in,  134 
Cave-ins,  possibilities  of,  135 
Caucus  among  Sclavs,  327 
Charities,  money  spent  on,  303 

organized,  307 

systematizing  of,  311 
Child  labor  laws,  effect  of,  181  (n) 

intricacies  of,  175 
Child  labor,  reform  in,  362 
Children  (still-born),  81 

death-rate  among,  79 

environment  of,  9 

home  influence  on,  142,  143 

institutions  for,  289 

naked,  100 

number  of,  141 
Christian  ideals,  loss  of,  374 
Christianity,  N.  T.  type  of,  214 

restraining  power  of,  373 
Churches,  benevolence  of,  310 

contributions  to,  212 

(Sclav)  friction  in,  215 

multiplicity  of,  213 

number  of,  209,  210 

per  capita  cost  of,  *212 

per  100,000  population,  211 

temperance  work  in,  202 
Church  property,  value  of,  207,  209, 

210 
Cicero,  361 
Cigarettes,  evil  of,  178 

regulation  of,  178 
Citizens'  clubs,  198 
Civic  righteousness,  need  of,  333 
Civil  War,  boys  of,  53 
Civilization,  stages  of,  11 
Clark,  Prof.  J.  B.,  114 
Clothier,  experience  of,  101 
Clothing,  cost  of,  101,  102 
Coal  communities,  conditions  of,  8 
wealth  of,  16 

cost  of,  95 

stealing  of,  95 

fields,  formation  of,  3 

longitude  and  latitude  of,  4 


Coal  communities,  towns  in,  145 

operators,  liberality  of,  304,  306, 
312 
law  favorable  to,  8 
provide  insurance,  267 
taxes  paid  by,  300,  305,  326 
their  opportunity,  258 
strike  commission,  122,  186 
Cock-fighting,  stakes  at,  294 

passion  for,  295 
Colliers,  status  of,  23 
Colonies  in  mining  towns,  25 
Commercial  age,  spirit  of,  376 
Commission  of  Labor,  255 
Commissioner  of  Immigration,  247 
Common  herd,  the,  366 
Compulsory  attendance,  182 

efficiency  of,  183 
Communal  life,  105 
Communicants  per  pastor,  209 
Company  houses,  care  of,  125 
employees  in,  127 
number  of,  121 
quality  of,  125 
selling,  149 
variety  of,  123 
valuation  of,  122 
Cone,  Dr.  Orello,  369 
Conflict,  benefit  of,  112 

psychical  character  of,  118 
use  of,  360 
Conflicts  of  opinions,  26 
Consumers'  league,  117 
Consumption,  articles  of,  106 
Contributions,  evils  of,  309 
Convictions,  per  100,000  population, 

275 
Convicts,  average  age  of,  274 

illiteracy  of,  274 
Cooking,  art  of,  103 
Cooperation,  need  of  in  church  work, 

214 
Cooperatives  in  Belgium,  253 
Corporate  greed,  125 
Corporations,  mulcting,  342 
Councilmen,  saloonists  as,  326 
Councils  and  business,  341 
Councils,  clicks  in,  326 
County  Committee,  320 
County  jails,  persons  in,  276 
County  officers,  323 

character  of,  316 
salaries  of,  323,  330 
Coxe  Bros.  &   Co.,  rentals  of,  126, 

198 
Crime  and  drink,  286  (n),  351 
Crime,  against  persons,  276,  282 
cases  returned,  287 
causes  of,  351 
increase  of,  275 


INDEX. 


381 


Crime,  mixed  population  and,  280 

nature  of,  276 
Criminals,  cost  of  maintenance,  278 

females,  287 

juveniles,  290 

nationality  of,  282 

percentage  tried,  277 

scientific  treatment  of,  365 
Culm  heaps,  17 

ugliness  of,  155 
Cummings,  Prof.  M.  W.,  167 
Curfew  bell,  349 
Currency,  inflation  of,  13 
Customs,  perpetuation  of,  42 

variation  of,  48 
Cuthbert,  376 
Cyclical  letter  of  Pope,  374 

DANCING  clubs,  199 
persons  interested  in,  201 
variety  of,  200 

halls,  evils  of,  202 
Dandyism,  93 
Danton,  366 
Darrow,  C.  S.,  237 
Death  in  the  home,  76 
Death-rate  by  months,  81 

in  mining  towns,  78 

in  the  State,  77 
Debt,  effect  of  in  homes,  346 

for  furniture,  93 
Deceased,  average  age  of,  82 
Decoration  in  Sclav  homes,  100 
Defacement,  effects  of,  10 
Defectives,  cost  of  maintenance,  302 
Delaware    &  Hudson   Co.,    accident 
fund  of,  269 

checking  extravagance,  329 

houses  of,  131 
Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Western, 

houses  of,  131 
Delaware  River,  the,  5 
Delinquents,  better  homes  for,  295 
Depression  in  business,  16 
Descendants,  degeneracy  of,  18,  295 
Deschenes,  Isola,  102 
"Devil  of  self-interest,"  366 
Diet  of  Sclavs,  109 
Diphtheria,  prevalence  of,  336 
Display  among  women,  99 
Diversion  of  Sclavs,  108 
Divorce,  66 

increase  of,  137 
Dodson  Coal  Company,  houses  of,  129 
Dole,  Charles  F.,  354 
Domestic  arts,  need  of,  186,  345 
Drink  and  mine  workers,  370 

national  taste  for,  235 
Drunkards,  character  of,  241 

scientific  treatment  for,  365 


Drunkenness,  in  mining  towns,    286 
cause  of  crime,  286,  288 

Dwelling,  persons  per,  119 
table  of,  120 

Dwellings,  character  of,  129 

ECONOMIC  conditions  change,  376 
foresight,  259 
Economics,  laws  of,  113 
Education,  need  of  industrial,  348 

need  of  in  homes,  347 
Elections  and  the  saloons,  326 
Elector's  vote,  price  of,  322 
Electoral  vote  in  mining  towns,  316 
Electors,  honesty  of,  331 
Elevation  of  towns,  4,  6 
Eliot,  President,  232 
Elite,  withdrawal  of,  18 
Eltzbacher,  O.,  on  industrial  schools, 

363 
Employees,  number  of  mine,  14 
Employers,  financial  capacity  of,  244 
generosity  of,  314 
their  responsibility,  368 
Engelmann,  Dr.  G.  J.,  74,  81,  82 
England,  age  of  married  in,  65 
English  in  India,  111 
Equality  of  the  sexes,  67 
Ethics,  need  of  teaching,  187 
political  influence  of,  356 
wife-by-purchase  code  of,  139 
Ethics  and  economics,  353 
Evictions,  possibility  of,  122 
Evolution  (intensive),  effect  of,  344 
Excitement,  craving  for,  352 
Extravagance  of  young  America,  108 

FARMS,  depreciation  of,  9 
Family,  persons  per,  120 
Fashion,  tyranny  of,  110 
Fatalities  in  mining  industry,  77 
Father  Matthew  Society,  203 
Faust,  110 
Felt  want,  104 
Females,  excess  of,  57 
Female  wage-earners,  percentage  of, 

14 
Ferri,  Prof.,  on  crime,  365 
Festivities  in  churches,  105 
Figian  native,  366 
Financiers,  mine  workers  and,  263 
Fire  companies,  321 

woman  cares  for,  94 
Fiske,  John,  on  paternalism,  360 
Food,  abundance  of,  105 

amount  needed,  108,  109 
variety  of,  104 
Foreign  born,  percentage  of  Sclavs 

among,  21 
Foreign  bom  wives,  fecundity  of,  72 


382 


INDEX. 


Foreigners,  economic  value  of,  23 
Fox,  George,  90 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  372 
Fraternal  orders,  benevolence  of,  309 
Fraternal  organizations,  259 

amalgamation  of,  263 

among  Catholics,  262 

and  the  clergy,  261 

benefits  paid  by,  262 

management  of,  262,  264 

religious  basis  of,  260 
Fuegians^  96 
Furnishings,  household,  92 

G ALTON,  Dr.  Francis,  85 
Gambling  instinct,  214 
Gardens  of  mine  employees,  105 
Geddes  and  Thompson,  66,  75,  76 
German  Emperor,  374 
Gibbons,  Cardinal,  354 
Giddings,  Prof.,  56,  71,  83,  194 
Gide,  Charles,  237 
Girls,  age  leaving  school,  167 

domestic  arts  and,  364 

wages  of,  185 
Gobin,  General,  186 
Goethe,  60,  118,  240 
Gowen,  Franklin  B. ,  268 
Greek  church,  funerals  at,  52 
Gray,  Judge,  139 
Griggs,  John  W.,  364 
GrofI,  Dr.  G.  G.,  147 
Guyau,  74 
Gynecologists,  advice  of,  77,  84 

HALE,  Lord  Chief  Justice,  113 
Harris,  Dr.,    on   kindergarten, 

Harrison,  Frederick,  359 
Haupt,  Prof.  Paul,  377 
Hazleton  region,  houses  in,  90 
Henderson,  C.  R,  113,  186 
Herrings,  smoked,  107 
Hewitt,  Abram  S.,  119,  268 
Hierarchy  in  society,  371 
High  license,  effect  of,  206 
High  schools,  expenditures  on,  171 
male  and  female  scholars  in, 

171 
percentage  in,  184 
pupils  in,  171 
High  wages,  effect  on  labor  supply, 

343 
Hillside  Coal   and    Iron    Company, 

houses  of,  131 
Holidays,  need  of  purifying,  219 
Home,  authority  in,  136 

bare-footed  women  in,  100 
equality  of  rights  in,  137 
influence  of,  61 


Home,  moral  sensitiveness  of,  291 

of  Sclav  and  American,  92 

relation  to  saloon,  148 
Homes,  built  by  miners,  89 

sacrifice  to  build,  257 
Hoppe,  Dr.  Hugo,  224,  237 
Hose,  Sclavs  without,  102 
Hospitals,  304 

expenses  of,  305 

persons  in,  304 
Houses,  company,  88 
Houses,  owned  by  mine  workers,  132, 
133,  135 

rented,  135 

Sclavs  crowding,  129 

Sclavs  renting  and  building,  87 
Huckleberries,  gathering,  108 
Hume,  David,  361 
Hungary,  birth-rate  in,  69 
Husband  under  muliocracy,  99 
Husbands,  indulgence  of,  142 
Huxley,  Prof.,  109 
Hygiene,  teachings  of,  8 

IMITATION,  effect  of,  87,  97 
i    Immigration,  Sclav,  13 
necessity  of,  13 
increase  of,  19 
Immigrants,  effect  on  population,  344 

improved  type  of,  11 

(male)  percentage  of,  57 
Imperial  Bureau  of  Germany,  266 
Individuality,  96,  360 
In-door  relief,  expense  of,  299 
Industrial  activity,  effect  on  schools, 
172,  183 

conflicts,  cause  of,  112 

depression,  285 

status  of  bridegrooms,  62 
Industries,  diversities  needed,  15 
Inebriates,  number  of,  236 
Infant  mortality,  80 

causes  of,  347 
Injured  mine  workers  under  P.  &R., 

271 
Insane,  number  in  State,  302 
Insanity,  increase  of,  301 
Inspector  of  Public  Health,  report  of, 

336 
Insurance,  divide  the  cost  of,  273 

for  mine  workers,  259 

need  of  systematizing,  265,  272 

refused  by  employees,  268 

various  kinds  of,  266 
Insured,  percentage  of  mine  workers, 

266 
Intemperance,  loss  due  to,  206 
Intermarriage,  58 

International  correspondence  school, 
199 


INDEX. 


383 


Irish  Americans  in  politics,  326 
Italians,  33 

JEWS  among  Sclavs,  29 
banking  business  of,  30 
children  of,  29 
orthodoxy  of,  29 
prosperity  of,  29 
social  status  of,  28 
Jewish  schools,  nature  of,  157 
Jhering,  241 

Journal,  Pennsylvania  School,  170 
Jukic,  71 

Justices-of-peace,  business  of,  280 
cases  of,  280 
character  of,  279 
Juvenile  Court,  Act  296 
good  of,  296 

recent  legislation  on,  296  (n) 
criminals,  average  age  of,  289 
cost  of  maintenance,  289 
incarceration  of,  277 
number  of,  289 

KEG  fund,  266 
Keller,  Dr.  A.  G.,  22 
Kindergarten,  free,  312 
in  mining  towns,  157 
in  Scranton,  157 
need  of,  143,  184,  362 
"  Knock  down,"  practice  of,  179 
Krauss,  65,  100 
Kum,  the  custom  of,  49 

LABOKEES,  variation  in,  63 
Lackawanna  Co.,  marriages  in,  59 

mine  employees  in,  13 

River,  the,  5 
Lansford,  building  lots  in,  134  (n) 

Sclav  property  in,  44 
Lattimer,  dwellings  in,  129 
Law,  a  question  of  money,  355 

lax  administration  of,  182 
Laws,  multiplicity  of,  360 

relation  of  to  society,  359 
Law  and  Order  League,  206 
Law-suits,  cost  of,  281 

effect  of  union  on,  281 

number  of,  281 
Leaders  of  faith,  need  of,  367 
Leasing,  system  of,  131 
Legal  age,  boys  at  work  under,  175 
L^slation,  curbing  the  strong,  359 

for  better  homes,  362 

to  stimulate  parents,  362 
Legislators,   socialistic   tendency  of, 

358 
Legislature,  members  of,  324 
Lehigh   Coal  and  Navigation  Com- 
pany, houses  of,  134 


Lehigh  and  Wilkesbarre,  houses  of, 

128 
Letourneau,  143,  174 
Letts,  antiquity  of,  32 
Libraries  in  cities  and  towns,  195 
Licentiousness,  shamelessness  of,  291 
Licenses,  number  issued,  230 

persons  per,  230 
Lilienfeld,  P.  De,  27,  75,  84,  240 
Lippert,  65,  96,  97,  100,  103,  200 
Literature    read    by  mine   workers, 

Living,  per  capita  cost  of,  104 

Lodging,  106 

Loria,  77 

Loss  of  work,  amount  of,  258 

Low,  Minnie  F.,  296 

Luxury,  criterion  of,  115 

dawn  of,  104 

evil  of,  241 
Lytle  Coal  Company,  houses  of,  129 

MABILLON,  351 
MaeVeagh,  Wayne,  56,  354,  374 
Mahanoy  City,  houses  in,  147 

infant  mortality  in,  80,  147 
library  of,  196 
newspapers  read  in,  189 
saloons  in,  226 
schools  of,  169 
Maine,  Sir  Henry,  57,  82,  366 
Making  work,  117 
Males,  excess  of,  57 
Malthusian  law,  pressure  of,  17 
Manual  training,  need  of,  185 
Marriages,  according  to  season,  66 
effect  of  prosperity  on,  66 
fees  for,  210 
number  of,  67 
rate  of,  59 

temperance  in,  76,  82 
Sclav,  49 
Marriage,  prudence  after,  74 
rate  in  mining  towns,  60 
Materialism  of  the  age,  372 
Mayo-Smith  on  degeneracy,  295 
Meteorological  observations,  4 
Midwives,  registration  of,  66 
Milton,  221 
Millcreek  Coal  Company,  houses  of, 

128 
Mine  employees,  beer  bill  of,  235 
carelessness  of,  266 
immigrants  as,  22 
workers,  future  supply  of,  232 
generosity  of,  314 
physique  of,  349 
religious,  212 
Miners,  British,  14 
as  husbands,  141 


384 


INDEX. 


Miners'  families,  expense  of,  114,  346 

wives,  fecundity  of,  71 
Mines,  water  in,  7 

Mining,  disagreeableness  of,   17,  288 
danger  of,  22 
male  labor  in,  14 
camps,  change  in,  21,  43 
rent  in,  92 
saloons  in,  222 
counties,  foreigners  in,  22 
Sclavs  needed  for,  35 
industry,  three  stages  of,  11 
and  Mechanical  Institute,  198 
operations,  effects  of,  5,  6,  9 
plants,  cost  of,  206 
towns,   dwellings    and  families 
in,  121 
foreigners  in,  23 
health  of,  148 
intemperance  in,  148 
need  of  health  officers  in,  337 
saloons  in,  225 
school  facilities  in,  154,  166, 
168 
Mitchell,  John,  112 
Mixed  marriages,  58 
Mixture  of  races,  32 
Moral  decadence,  tendency  to,  354 

training,  need  of,  186,  377 
Morality  and  public  health,  347 
Mores  as  related  to  laws,  359 
Morris,  William,  371 
Mothers,  the  need  of,  139,  345 
Mothers'  meetings,  77,  140 
Mt.  Carmel,  Sclav  property  in,  42 
Municipal  work,  357 
Murder,  prevalence  of,  283 
Murderers,  escape  of,  283  (n) 

NANTICOKE,  Sclav  property  in,  42 
Natality,  norm  of,  70 
restriction  of,  85 
Nationality  of  naturalized,  47 
Native-born  employees,  22 

of  foreign  parents,  27 
prodigality  of,  114 
standard  of  living  of,  113 
Naturalization,  regulation  of,  44 
Neo-malthusianism,  75,  85,  91,  100 
Newspaper  train,  190 
Newspapers,  character  of,  191 
in  politics,  192,  321 
money  spent  on,  190 
number  distributed,  188 
number  of  Sclav,  189 
utility  of,  193 
Nietzsche,  83 
Night  schools,  165 

attendance  at,  172 
expenses  of,  173 


Night  schools,  unsatisfactory  results, 

172 
Nitti,  Fr.  S.,  11,  70,  110,  114 
Non-fatal  accidents,  nature  of,  265 
Norwich,  N.  Y.,  crimes  in,  285 

disposition  of  cases  in,  287 
Nuisances,  frequency  of,  336 

OLYPHANT,  clubs  in,  196 
lawsuits  in  borough  of,  339 
municipal  enterprises  of,  338 
newspapers  distributed  in,  190 
schools  of,  169 
Sclav  property  in,  42 
Operators  as  temperance  reformers, 

206 
Out-door  relief,  expense  of,  299 
Outlook,  the,  207 
Owen,  Robert,  149 

n   &  R.  Coal  and  Iron  Co.,  accident 
i  .     fund,  270,  272 

houses  of,  127 
rental  of,  127 
recent  dwellings  of,  130 
Pennsylvania  R.  R.  Company,  houses 

of,  133 
Pardee,  Calvin,  131 
Parents,  as  teachers,  186 

carelessness  of,  183 

exploiting  children,  176 

responsibility  of,  182 
Parish,  Charles,  267 
Parochial  schools,  English  and  Sclav, 
173,  183 

number  of,  155 
Parsonages,  212,  213 
Parturition  among  Sclavs,  71 
Pastors,  liberality  of,  313 

need  of  intelligent,  218 

salary  of,  209,  212,  213 
Paupers,  cost  of  maintenance,  302 

number  of,  301,  314 
Pauperism,  and  alcoholism,  351 

amount  of,  310 

growth  of,  301 

scientific  treatment  of,  314,  351 
Penitenitaries,  of  State,  274 

cost  of  to  counties,  278 
Persons  of  school  age,  165 
Philanthropy,  need  of  enlightened, 

315 
Physicians,  prosecution  of,  68 
Plato,  361 
Ploss,  Dr.,  80 
Poison,  indifference  to,  9 
Police,  Coal  and  Iron,  95 
Political  clubs,  Sclav,  45,  357 
Political  offices,  assessment  for,  320 

money  spent  for,  320 


INDEX. 


385 


Political  oflSces,  monopoly  of,  319 
Politicians,  cunning  of,  332 

deterioration  of,  357 

liberality  of,  311 

money  handled  by,  329 

newspapers  controlled  by,  192 

public  health  and,  334 
Politics,  corruption  of,  317 

gambling  in,  319 

machine  in,  316,  318 

money  in,  318 

naturalization  and,  45 

parasites  in,  321 

saloon  in,  321 

school  districts  in,  161 

Sclavs  in,  322 
Polstertanz,  49 

Poor  boards  and  the  deceased,  307 
duties  of,  308 
vigilance  needed  in,  309 
Poor  directors,  qualifications  of,  308 

liberality  of,  311 
Poor  districts,  a  comparison  of,  299 
variation  in,  300 
number  of,  298 

relief,  abuse  of,  300 
excess  of,  299 
Population,  deterioration  of,  18 

Gresham  law  of,  20 

increase  of,  11,  12 

of  coal  fields,  10 

percentage  of  mixture  in,  21 
Post-office  Savings  Banks,  248 
Pound  party,  311 
Pow-wowing,  216 
Prayer  and  fasting,  need  of,  376 
Pressure  of  population,  eflTect  of,  344 
Primaries  in  saloons,  326 
Priests,  liberality  of  313 

number  of,  209 

nationality  of,  210 

salary  of,  212 
Production,  increase  of,  12 

maximum,  12 

stimulation  to,  113 

tons  per  employee,  15 

tons  per  capita,  16 
Productivity,  increased,  16 
Progress,  social,  98 
Prohibition  in  Pennsylvania,  238 
Property,  benefits  of,  124 
Prosperity  and  degeneracy,  349 
Protestants,  percentage  of  communi- 
cants, 211 

percentage  of  Sclavs,  215 
Protestant  churches,  inefficiency  of, 

375 
Provisions,  cheap,  106 
Public  schools,  politics  in,  356 
Public  service,  357,  358 
26 


Q 


UAY-ELKIN  fight,  355 
Queen  Bess,  102 


RACES  in  coal  fields,  number  of,  19 
names  of,  21 

Racial  pride,  24 

conflicts  due  to,  24 
industrial  effect  of,  25 

Radicals,  danger  from,  19 

Ranke,  98,  109,  111 

Ransom  Poor  District,  309 

Reading  circles,  195 

Real  want,  104 

Recognizance  forfeited,  277 

Reformatories  of  State,  288 

inmates  from  coal  fields,  290 

Religion,  permanency  of,  208,  354 
socializing  power  of,  208 
teaching  of,  needed,  378 

Rent,  amount  paid,  91 

Rents,  on  Hazleton  mountain,  128 
regulation  of,  128 

Retreat  in  Central  District,  302,  306 

Retrogression,  mixed  races  and,  27 

Returned  cases,  cost  of,  277  (n) 

Rich,  Edmund,  376 

Richet,  Charles,  108 

Rivers,  contamination  of,  6,  7 

Roads,  money  spent  on,  331 

Robberies,  prevalence  of,  246 

Roderick,  James  E.,  12,  315  (n) 

Roof,  Prof.,  182 

Roosevelt,  President,  53 

Rosmead,  Lord,  367 

Rural  life,  285 

Ruskin,  John,  89 

Ryan,  Lieutenant  J.  P.,  349 

SAINTS,  commemoration  of,  219 
Salaries,  increase  of,  278 
Saloonists,  nationality  of,  229,  231 
Saloons,  bad  debts  of,  234 

character  of,  236 

clubs  in,  242 

effect  of  strike  on,  223 

expenses  of,  233 

gambling  in,  235 

increase  of,  223 

influence  of,  232 

money  spent  in,  237 

number  of,  222,  223,  237 

profits  of,  234 

revenue  from,  233 

social  need  of,  238 

stickers  in,  235 

Sunday  trade  in,  54,  236,  239 

waste  of  wages  in,  239 
Sanitation,  in  mining  camps,  132 
Savings,  how  to  double,  262 

people's,  103 


INDEX. 


Savings,  reluctance  to  draw,  244 
Schaeflfer,  Dr.,  160,  194 
School  directors,  character  of,  162 
election  of,  160 
politics  and,  161 
sins  of,  164 

libraries,  law^  relative  to,  194 
Schools,  appropriations  for,  153 

attendance  at,  166 

buildings  for,  154 

children  in,  151,  164 

expenditures  for,  153 

aesthetics  in,  155 

grades  and  percentages,  170 

in  Scranton,  168 

length  of  term,  151,  165 

liabilities  of,  152 

politics  in,  362 

property  in,  152 

taxation  for,  152 

savings  banks,  245 
depositors  in,  246 
Schuylkill  County,  mine  employees 

in,  13 
Schwab,  on  accidents,  265 
Sclavs,  brides,  65 

callousness  of,  50 

capacity  of,  25 

change  of  policy  of,  35 

characteristics  of,  36 

children  of,  74 

citizens,  44 

clubs  among,  197 

contrast  in  wages,  34 

crime  among,  282 

courage  of,  39 

environment  of,  52,  284,  345 

failings  of,  40 

fatherland  of,  31,  33 

fights  of,  283 

fraternal  organizations  of,  51 

habitations  given  to,  38 

holidajs  of,  54 

in  their  own  light,  174 

in  saloons,  231 

influence  of,  35 

intemperance  of,  52,  205 

insurance  amongj  263 

lawsuits  among,  281 

marriages  of,  61 

parasites  among,  26 

percentage  naturalized,  46 

percentage  of,  19 

politicians  and,  47,  327 

priests,  46 

religion  of,  54,  216 

social  progress  of,  112,  283 

socialism  among,  36 

Sunday  among,  53 

the  press,  191 


Sclavs,  total  number  of,  20 

treatment  of,  37 

uncleanness  of,  337 

venality  among,  47 
Sclav  women,  at  home,  99 
barefooted,  94 
fashion  and,  98 
Scranton,  variety  of  industries  in,  13 

Sclavs  in,  20 
Selection,  applied  to  man,  85 
Self-culture  clubs,  need  of,  196 
Self-help,  safety  of,  365 
Shanties,  in  northern  coal  fields,  131 

Sclavs  living  in,  125 
Shenandoah,  homes  in,  146 

infant  mortality  in,  147 

municipal  enterprise,  340 

saloons  in,  226 

Sclav  property  in,  41 
Slot-machines,  evil  of,  294 

money  spent  on,  292 

patronage  of,  292 

profits  of,  293 

where  found,  293 
Smith,   Adam,  10,  38,  105,  113,  116, 

352,  356 
Smith,  Dr.  Eugene,  on  kindergarten, 

362 
Sociability,  exercise  of,  263 
Social  capillarity,  law  of,  11 
Social  progress,  difficulties  of,  18 
Social  settlements,  lesson  of,  238,  369 
Socials  in  churches,  nature  of,  214 
Society,  strength  of,  148 

regenerating  power  of,  355 
Solon,  law  of,  176 
Spaniards  in  America,  118 
Spencer,  Herbert,  59,  84 
Spinsters  in  mining  towns,  137 
Standard  of  living,  American,  15,  110 
effects  of.  111 

Sclav's  and  Anglo-Saxon's, 
106 
State  Board  of  Health,  140 
State  socialism,  337 
Statesmen  cannot  change  society,  361 
Statistics  of  birth,  inaccuracy  of,  68 
Sterility  of  women,  75 
Strike  of  1902,  104 

who  suffered  in,  117 
Strikes,  liberality  in,  314 
Strippings,  ravages  of,  9 
Students,  the  need  of,  360 
Styles,  change  of,  103 
Sunday  schools,  inefficiency  of,  377 
Superintendents  of  schools,  answers 

by,  168 
Superstitions,  nature  of,  216,  217 
Susquehanna  Coal  Company,  169 
strike  under,  39 


INDEX. 


387 


Susquehanna  Eiver,  The,  5 

TAYLOK,  Superintendent    of 
Schools,  166,  183 
Tax-collectors,  bonds  of,  323 
Tax-payers,  exoneration  of,  333 

association  of   Schuylkill,    300, 
308,  323 
Teachers,  certificates  of,  163 

number  of,  158 

percentage  of  male  and  female, 
158,  160 

salaries  of,  158 

selection  of,  160 
Temperance,  and  Miners'  Union,  203 

reform,  202 

and  social  questions,  207 

various  societies,  204 
Thayer,  Judge,  7 
Therapeutics,  need  of,  218 
Thrift,  among  Sclavs,  253 

should  be  taught,  245 
Towns,  population  of,  146 

real  estate  in,  256 
Trades  unions,  labels  of,  117 
Tremont  Valley,  farms  in,  131 
True  bills,  percentage  returned,  275, 

277 
Tyrolese,  33 

celebration  by,  55 

UNITED     MINE      WOKKEES' 
UNION,  27,  56 
influence  of,  27 
Unsanitary  conditions,  336 

VAN  DYKE  Bill,  238 
Van  Wickle,  houses  of,  128 
Vagrants  in  mining  towns,  285 

number  of,  285 
Vanity  in  society,  96 

in  women,  107 
Venality,  318 
Vicarious  sacrifice,  principle  of,  369 


Virchow,  75 
Vrooman,  Carl  S.,  373 

WAGES,  inadequacy  of,  346 
Wage-earners,  need  of  thrift  in, 
372 
Wanamaker,  John,  246 
Ward,  L.  F.,  24,  52,  55,  58,  85,  113 
Wame,  Dr.  Frank  Julian,  337  (n) 
Warner,  Dr.  Charles  Dudley,  364 
Wash-houses,  law  to  erect,  144 
Washington,  on  need  of  religion,  373 
Water  supply,  impurity  of,  334 
Waters,  sulphurous,  7 
Wathen,  Dr.  W.  H.,  75 
Watres,  Ex-Lieutenant  Governor,  324 
Wages,  loss  of,  258 
Weapons  used  in  crime,  287 
Weddings,  dancing  at,  49 

collector  at,  50 
Weston,  C.  S.,  43 
Widowers,  average  age  of,  64 
Widows,  aid  to,  309 

average  age  of,  64 

sons  of,  176 
Wife, 'drudgery  of  miner's,  138 

lot  of  miner's,  137 
Wife-by-purchase  code  of  ethics,  85 
Wilkesbarre,  Sclavs  in,  20 
William  Meister,  221 
Wives,  husbands  rule  over,  99 

married  1-30  years,  73 
Women's  organizations,  262 
Woodhead,  Dr.  G.  Sims,  350 
Workingmen,  improvement  of,  117 

capacity  of,  367 
Wright,  Col.  Carroll  D.,  350,  368 
Wyoming  Valley,  farms  in,  9 

saloons  in,  229 

YM.  C.  A.  work  in  coal  fields,  197, 
.    205,  313 
Young  America  in  arms,  118 


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